Soldiers are likely to use sick leave in the coming week as their latest weapon in the continuing dispute over pay and barracks closures with the Minister for Defence.
Last night the PDFORRA executive decided against re-entering talks with management unless it had a letter indicating the Government was willing to consider its concerns over issues in Partnership 2000 like the number of hours worked annually.
Earlier there had been hopes PDFORRA would call off its "rolling press conference" outside barracks in Dublin and Kildare and re-enter talks on Monday. Both sides say that they have agreed "95 per cent" of the pay agenda.
Following informal contacts between the Department of Defence and PDFORRA yesterday, it had been expected the Department would supply the PDFORRA general secretary, Mr John Lucey, with a letter outlining management views on how progress can be made on issues. But the Department reversed its decision after Mr Lucey gave an interview on RTE Radio's News at One programme, in which he threatened a further escalation of the dispute.
A Department spokesman said PDFORRA was breaching procedures with its "rolling press conference". "It had been made clear that settlement terms were still on offer, but only if the action ceased. As long as they threaten escalation we cannot write to them."
Mr Lucey said later he was disappointed at the Department's attitude. He had been ready to recommend to his executive a resumption of talks, but he could do so only on the basis of a commitment in writing from the Department that it was addressing PDFORRA's concerns.
He claimed there was now serious distrust because the management side had repeatedly acted in bad faith. He cited as an example what he called the unilateral introduction of stricter medical testing by Mr Smith's predecessor, Mr David Andrews, last October, after commitments to further discussions on the issue. The Department had also reneged, he claimed, on the issue of raising the strength of the Permanent Defence Forces.
"The nature of the barrackss closure announcements by Mr Smith was the last straw", he said. "That is not a partnership approach. Unless we have something in writing that we can study and ask questions on we can't re-enter discussions."
He would not comment on what PDFORRA was planning for next week, but said it intended "taking a leaf out of the guards' book".
Meanwhile the General Staff of the Defence Forces has condemned the "rolling press conference" as "not in keeping with the traditions and ethos of the Defence Forces". It called for the current dispute to be resolved by using the negotiating procedures provided when PDFORRA and the other PDF representative associations were set up in 1991.