ICTU: Govt needs to stop 'talking to themselves' over public sector pay
The incoming head of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions says the Government is "talking to itself" over a prospective public sector pay deal.
SIPTU Vice President Patricia King - who will lead ICTU from March - says she has had no engagement with the Coalition about a successor to the Croke Park and Haddington Road Agreements.
King, who will be the first woman General Secretary in Congress's 121-year history, says her immediate focus will be on household finances.
She says she is open to engagement over public sector pay, but will not be drawn on speculation of a new deal.
She said: "They are entitled to make whatever comments they want about it. Because they are talking to themselves it's really very difficult to make a comment about something nobody has discussed with you.
"I have found over the years it is usually unwise to do that because really what you are doing is you're making it up, and that's not really the right thing to do.
"So, they would sort of need to get out of the space of talking to themselves if they want to engage people."
