O’Connor calls for unity in relation to Croke Park proposals
SIPTU President Jack O’Connor has said that workers in the public service would be better served by one centralised agreement with the Government on pay and conditions.
Responding to media reports of so-called ‘sweeteners’ on offer to members of some unions if they agree to the Labour Relations Commission proposals on a new Public Service Agreement, O’Connor, said: “I don’t think anyone should get better deals than anyone else. "I'm not sure the proposals, as they stand, are adequate. But I am sure that everyone who works in the public service is better off with an agreement which protects them against redundancy, which protects them against the outsourcing of their jobs.
"That's why I supported the Croke Park Agreement (in 2010) when it was going down in flames."
On the issue of the Government’s approach to unions which have rejected the current proposals, O’Connor said: “I think an effort should be made to extend a hand to the people who are outside and see if anything can be done to address their most serious concerns. It is not up to me to tell the Government what to do but I think that they should do it.”
O’Connor was clear that while a single agreement was preferable the current proposals as they stand may not provide the basis for such a deal.
However, he said that he did not believe “that the negotiators left anything at the table” and any improvement on the proposals would only be secured through industrial action.
“The issue is whether another strategy would produce a better single, centralised public service agreement or not.”
O’Connor added that any Government attempt to implement a pay cut across the board for all public servants would be "monumentally stupid" but he warned that it was likely to attempt a divide and rule strategy against the trade union movement if the proposals are rejected.
The SIPTU National Executive Council will meet on Thursday (14th March) to decide on its position on the proposals before a full ballot of members in the public service.
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