NURSES' and teachers' unions are reserving their positions on the new arbitration process being put in place by the Government and ICTU to avert a major confrontation over pay that could wreck the Programme for Competitiveness and Work.
As expected, the Government and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions announced yesterday that they had developed a framework to deal with problems in public service restructuring deals. These not only threaten to undermine the PCW but could jeopardise the chances of another national agreement.
Where agreement cannot be" reached between unions and management, the framework proposals allow the two sides to opt for the services of a facilitator, or independent adjudication.
The framework also allows for discussions on further reviews of pay and working conditions in the public service to take place, during the life of the PCW. In other words, the Government is saying to the unions that, even if all their aspirations cannot be met within the terms of the current programme, they can at least have an early start into negotiations in the post PCW situation.
A major criticism of the PCW has been that the ceiling of 3 per cent on any pay rises for public servants is too low, considering the level of flexibility and productivity being sought in return. Another criticism has been the fact that 20 months into the agreement only one restructuring deal has been concluded, with the Public Service Executive Union.
It was the eight to one rejection of the nurses restructuring offer and threat of strike action that galvanised the Government into seeking a review of the PCW two weeks ago. Congress and several public service union leaders had been hinting strongly that the lack of an arbitration process was a major defect in the restructuring clause of the PCW because it meant that, when talks broke down, the only course open was industrial action.
The teachers' and nurses unions were briefed on the proposals yesterday morning, before they were made public. Ironically, the third group targeted in, the initiative, low paid members of the Civil and Public Services Union, now look as if they are near a breakthrough in their pay talks.
Mr Charlie Lennon of the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland, said last night: "We welcome the commitment of the Government to try and resolve, the problems, but we need a lot of questions answered about the framework and the proposed adjudication process before we can welcome it."
The chairman of the ICTU public services committee and general secretary of IMPACT, Mr Peter McLoone, also welcomed the commitment that the Government was showing to breaking the deadlock in talks. But he warned that "the time for fudging things is over." Agreements under the framework would have to be specific and unambiguous if public service workers were to accept them.
He declined to comment on how the Nursing Alliance would react to the framework. The four unions in the alliance - IMPACT, SIPTU, the Irish Nurses Organisation and, the Psychiatric Nurses' Association - met the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, yesterday morning for a briefing on the framework agreement. They are to meet again in the next few days to consider their response.
However, with the largest nursing union, the INO, balloting for strike action and the other unions holding special conferences to consider similar ballots, the Government ICTU initiative is unlikely to avert a confrontation between nurses and Government on its own.
The general secretary of the Teachers' Union of Ireland, Mr Jim Dorney, also welcomed the Government's commitment to resolving the impasse over public sector pay, but said his union reserved its position pending an executive meeting in a fortnight.