THE general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has intervened in the ESB dispute in a last minute effort to save the company's £270 million Cost and Competitiveness Review (CCR).
Following two days of discussions with the company and representatives of the shift workers who rejected the deal last week, Mr Peter Cassells has written to the unions urging them to re ballot their members.
In a letter to the shift workers negotiating committee, Mr Cassells says: "We have reached the end of the road - there is no more there and nowhere else to go."
He adds: "I have received an assurance from the chief executive [of the ESB], Mr Joe Moran, that in the event of the agreement as clarified being accepted, he will, in accordance with the CCR, support the refurbishment programme, for the midland stations.
Earlier this week Mr Moran indicated that the £50 million refurbishment programme could not go ahead if the CCR was not accepted by the shift workers.
Delays in implementing the programme could see the closure of several peat fired stations "where the bulk of the workers who voted to reject the CCR are located. The review has been accepted by 94 per cent of the workforce.
Besides his letter to the shift workers' negotiators, Mr Cassells has sent them a four page document, given to him by Mr Moran, in which the chief executive addresses their concerns about safety and staffing at the power stations under the new agreement. He also confirms that they will receive elements of their pay award under the CCR within 12 months if they accept the deal.
However, Mr Moran also makes it clear the company continues to reject union arguments for higher staffing in power stations. These would breach the limits set on numbers agreed with other unions under the CCR, which involves the shedding of 2,000 out of 9,200 jobs.
Lasts night, Mr Denis Rohan of the ATGWU, which represents 450 of the 600 workers involved, said the union's negotiating committee and executive would be considering Mr Cassells's letter and the document from Mr Moran over the next few days. "We will give our response after the executive meeting on Monday."
The ESB board is to meet on Tuesday to decide its attitude towards the CCR. If the ATGWU and whether shift worker unions, SIPTU and the TEEU, decide to are ballot their members, then the board would almost certainly defer a final decision on the review.
The 600 shift workers were the only category of ESB workers whose negotiating team unanimously recommended rejection of the terms on offer. They provide 24 hour cover in power stations and are essential to the operation.
The negotiating committee is expected to meet tomorrow and the ATGWU executive on Monday. Shop stewards from the mid lands stations, crucial in swinging the vote against acceptance of the CCR in the last ballot, will be involved in both meetings.