Irish public sector unions plan demonstrations in eight cities and towns if second strike proceeds, Digi Mart USA News (Ireland): Public sector unions are set to stage demonstrations in eight cities and towns next Thursday if a second one-day strike goes ahead. The protests, connected to the dispute over the failure to agree a new national pay deal, will take place between noon and 2pm in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford, as well as Letterkenny, Sligo and Tullamore.
The unions want members to take part in the protests, so it is understood most will not place pickets on their workplaces. All three teachers’ unions, as well as Fórsa, which represents almost a third of those involved in the dispute, said their priority would be getting members to the regional centres where the demonstrations are taking place.
The unions said they will step up their work-to-rule this week after talks with Government officials over a new deal broke down last Friday night. They also suggested they will review the derogations they granted that allowed some members to work through the last strike.
Their intention, they said, is to maximize the impact of the action, but emergency cover will be provided in all key services.
The absence of pickets may mean some buildings that were closed during the first strike can open and more non-union members may go to work. About two-thirds of public and civil servants are members of trade unions.
No classes would be expected to take place at schools, while many hospital appointments would have to be deferred and other government and council services would be severely disrupted if the stoppage proceeds.
Efforts to restart talks continued on Thursday, but the unions did not meet the steering group chaired by Workplace Relations Commission chair Kevin Foley. They may do so again on Friday.
Face-to-face talks broke down when the unions rejected an offer on pay worth 6.75 per cent over 2½ years with an additional 1 per cent for local bargaining.
The gap between the sides remains substantial. Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan argued unions are not prepared to accept a deal worth less than the one agreed in 2024, which provided for 9¼ per cent in pay increases plus 1 per cent for local bargaining over the same period.
He declined to be drawn on unions’ basic pay demand but said it is higher than those figures. The unions are also reported to be seeking reductions in the amounts of some additional public sector workers’ pension contributions introduced after the financial crash.
