RELIEF TEMPERED with some concern will be the likely response of the public to the decision by the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to endorse the Croke Park agreement. There is huge relief that majority acceptance of the accord on public sector reform and pay has been achieved and that the potential for industrial relations chaos has been avoided. However, the public will be concerned to ensure the terms of this agreement are fully honoured and implemented.
The Government has promised public service workers no further pay cuts for four years and no compulsory redundancies. And the accord provides for a possible refund of the pay cuts at a later date but only after major reform of the public sector has been secured.Union negotiators have rightly claimed this was the best deal that could be achieved through talks. Most recognised that given the parlous state of the public finances, greater union militancy would not produce a better outcome for members. But others disagreed. A significant minority – seven trade unions representing some teachers, nurses, lower paid public servants and others – have voted against the Croke Park agreement.
For the Government this presents a potential difficulty. Some unions that opposed the accord will now accept the majority decision; other dissenting unions have indicated they will not. The Government is facing some tough choices. It could place the unions that have not accepted the agreement outside the scope of its benefit and protection. For the dissenting unions, that could mean further pay cuts and compulsory redundancies for their members. Or the Government could impose the terms of the agreement on all groups and ignore how individual unions voted. Either response presents problems for Government and for the trade union movement.
If the terms of the agreement are fully implemented, it has the potential to transform how State services are delivered to the public. Its success will be gauged by the degree of transformation achieved. And that presents a challenge to all those involved: to Government, public service management and staff. An implementation group which will be appointed by the Government must ensure the signatories to the agreement fully deliver on their commitments. One previous much heralded public service reform plan – benchmarking – has failed to deliver. Another such failure can neither be contemplated nor afforded.