PUBLIC SECTOR:THE NEW frontline alliance representing public sector staff who provide round-the-clock services has said the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) will oppose cutbacks in all forms of pay in any talks with the Government.
The 24/7 alliance, which comprises nurses, gardaí and prison officers among others, yesterday met with the general secretary of Ictu, David Begg, and its president, Jack O’Connor, to outline the fears and concerns of members regarding the implications of the McCarthy report.
The alliance is concerned about possible cuts in allowances and premium rates its members receive for working outside regular hours as well as proposed reductions in public services.
The deputy secretary general of the Irish Nurses’ Organisation, David Hughes, said Ictu would not distinguish between core pay – basic salary – and variable pay (allowances and premium rates).
In a statement the alliance said it shared with Ictu a common cause and concern with all workers and with the unemployed “that the McCarthy report had singled them out to bear the full brunt of economic correction policies”.
“Ictu acknowledged the depth of feeling among frontline workers. The meeting agreed on the critical importance of mounting a unified campaign across all sections of the workforce and those depending on public services to resist the imposition of the entire burden of economic adjustment on working people and the less well-off, while those at the top in society contributed nothing,” it said.
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