The chief executive of the Labour Relations Commission has said the main challenges facing the public service are to eliminate inefficiencies, create more flexible ways of delivering services and eradicate the duplication of costs.
Speaking at the launch of the LRC’s annual report this morning, Kieran Mulvey said the only way for Irish businesses to face up to current and future competitive challenges was for all parties to work together to achieve mutually satisfactory outcomes.
"The public sector in particular, has no choice but to build on the goodwill that exists to find better ways of working which delivers high quality services at a time when the resources to fund public services are severely curtailed,” he said.
In separate comments contained in the annual report, Mr Mulvey said the approach taken regarding reform and the provision of public services was of particular importance.
"We cannot continue simply to expand our public services or maintain them at current levels for the foreseeable future. We must decide what services are necessary and a priority and, therefore, what is financially sustainable,” he said.
"Core services must be retained but the cost of providing these services must be re-examined and greater efficiencies achieved. Such an approach is essential in all our public services.”
In a statement welcoming the launch of the annual report, Minister of State for Labour Affairs Dara Calleary warned there was “undoubtedly a risk of increased industrial relations conflict in the current difficult economic climate.
“This poses significant challenges for the dispute settling machinery of the State, including the Labour Relations Commission," he said.
Mr Mulvey also called for the use of voluntary binding arbitration if necessary in dealing with disputes in the current challenging industrial relations climate.
He proposed "a robust commitment to negotiation and decision, through voluntary binding arbitration if necessary in meeting the challenges faced by Irish employments at this time”.
Mr Mulvey said referrals to the Conciliation Service of the LRC in the first nine months of 2009 dealing with pay, restructuring and redundancy-related disputes grew by over 100 per cent by comparison with the same period in 2008. He said that there had been 1,300 separate disputes to end September 2009.
However, the annual report said there were only 12 strikes recorded in the Irish economy last year.
The LRC report also said that referrals to its right commissioner service had grown by 21 per cent to 11,000. It said there had already been 10,000 referrals up to September this year.