There is no doubt that the proposals for a revised agreement for workers in the public service represent a huge challenge for SIPTU members and the wider trade union movement.

Faced with a Troika insistence on securing a further €1billion reduction in public spending over the next three years, intense negotiations between unions and public service management have resulted in the latest set of proposals from the Labour Relations Commission.

Each union member will have an opportunity to vote on the proposals based on how they affect their pay and conditions of employment.

It is our view that workers in the public service are better served by one centralised agreement with the Government and by arrangements which protect them against redundancy and the outsourcing of their jobs.

That is one of the main reasons that SIPTU recommended the original Croke Park Agreement in 2010 when it was the subject of intense criticism across the public service unions.

On this occasion, it is evident that the SIPTU and other negotiators left nothing at the table and any improvement on the proposals can only be secured through industrial action where the outcome is, to say the least, uncertain and where neither side, worker or employer, can hope to win outright victory.

The issue is whether another strategy would produce a better single, centralised public service agreement or not. That is for members to decide in the coming weeks.