Govt to press on with pay cuts as talks collapse

Congress accused the Government of turning its back on a deal which would have saved billions of euro and led to a massive transformation in public services, branding it a catastrophic failure.

Peter McLoone, chair of Congress’ public services committee, said unions will decide on their next step on Monday but warned the majority have already balloted their members for industrial action.

“At this stage I am resigned to the fact that it is very, very unlikely that between now and Wednesday we’ll be able to rescue this situation,” he said.

“The Minister for Finance will get up next Wednesday and do what he thinks is appropriate on public service pay.

“That presents us with huge problems, because all of the mandates that unions got for industrial action are all about the protection of pay, pensions and against compulsory redundancies.”

David Begg, Congress general secretary, said an opportunity for public service reform had been lost.

“I profoundly regret that there is now no possibility of influencing a budget towards social solidarity,” he said.

“In time to come this will be seen as catastrophic public policy failure.” Mr McLoone said he believed negotiations collapsed because of the controversy surrounding the unpaid leave proposal, adding he was hugely disappointed and frustrated.

The Government faced backbench fury over the plan amid speculation the €1.3bn target was being dropped.

“This has slipped though our grasp, because, in our view, in our judgment it’s the unpaid days, the debacle that has surrounded the discussion on that,” Mr McLoone said.

The trade union chief said he believed pay cuts could amount to almost 7%.

Earlier unions hailed apparent progress in the talks to radically reform the public services as seismic and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But Mr McLoone signalled that if pay cuts are now imposed further co-operation on reforms would not be easily accepted by unions.

Earlier Mr Cowen said the proposals backed by the unions did not provide an adequate alternative to wage cuts and did not form the basis for an agreement.

“Unfortunately, the proposals put to Government do not provide an acceptable alternative to pay cuts,” Mr Cowen said.

“Therefore, the Government were unable to agree to the terms they had proposed.”

He added: “We now have to proceed to implement our plan to reduce the public service pay and pensions bill by €1.3bn next year compared with 2009.”

The Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants (AHCPS) said it regretted the collapse of the talks.

Dave Thomas, general secretary, said: “Having worked hard, and at all times constructively, to find a solution it is all the more disappointing that agreement was not reached when we seemed very close earlier today.

“For our part the AHCPS is ready and available to resume negotiations with the Government at any time in order to discuss reforms and measures to avoid an across-the-board pay cut.”

The Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland said it was disappointed.

John White, assistant general secretary, said: “The ASTI believes that in this time of recession, it is unthinkable that a major body such as the public sector unions representing over 350,000 workers are not party to an agreement to address our current problems.

“The Government’s decision represents the loss of a significant opportunity to forge a sense of social solidarity and social cohesiveness which is vital to Ireland’s recovery and our development as a modern society.”

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) said it deplored the decision, while Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said the Government had left the country in a shambles.

“This is surely the most incompetent government in the history of the state,” Mr Gilmore said.

“They made a mess of the economy. They presided over a mess in our banking system.

“They have now made a mess of the talks with the unions and all the signs are that they are now going to make a mess of next Wednesday’s budget.”