Sir, – The good times are back. There are many indicators but the most reliable is that Kevin Callinan, the general secretary of Fórsa, the largest public service union, expects the public service unions to have a similar target to their colleagues in the private sector when it comes to negotiations on a new pay deal with the Government ("Unions warn of 'very volatile' industrial relations climate in public service", News, January 3rd).
It has been a while since public sector union leaders saw the private sector as the benchmark for the treatment of their members. I had thought we might be a little further into the recovery in our exchequer finances before we heard calls for the benchmarking of public sector pay and conditions to those in the private sector. That term seemed to fall out of favour as 300,000 workers in the private sector lost their jobs.
But of course union leaders are quite right to look for the best of both worlds for public sector workers – equality of treatment when times are good and a safe harbour from the gales when private sector workers take the brunt of the downturn. When might we see our political leaders, who spend taxpayers’ money, explain to their employees or their representatives that they can no longer pick and mix? – Yours, etc,
PAT O’BRIEN,
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Rathmines,
Dublin 6 .