Govt to re-engage with unions over proposed pay bill cuts
The coalition is to re-engage with trade unions to see if they can again negotiate the proposed cuts to the public pay bill.
The cabinet agreed to the move this morning.
This morning the Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin briefed his colleagues for the first time since unions last week rejected the proposed Croke Park II deal.
Howlin and the rest of the cabinet re-affirmed the need to save one billion euro from the pay bill between now and 2015 - €300m of it before the end of this year.
The government has now decided to request the chief executive of the Labour Relations Commission Kieran Mulvey to make contact with union leaders in the coming days.
This will be to assess if the unions want to re-engage in talks with the coalition to find a negotiated agreement on the savings needed.
