Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said he does not believe industrial action by public servants will achieve “any real, constructive objective”. He today insisted the Government cannot simply walk away from the budgetary strategy which involved cuts in public service pay.
Speaking in the Dáil this afternoon, Mr Cowen said he was aware of the fact there was no current engagement in the social partnership process and it would be better if there was currently a centralised national pay agreement in place.
But as the employer on the public sector pay side, the Government was not in a position to look at changes to pay that were announced in December.
The Government had to go ahead “with reluctance” and make decisions in the context of the budget without the agreement of the social partners.
Mr Cowen said he believed people needed to “reflect on what is the best way forward from everyone’s point of view”.
He did not believe industrial action was the best move from point of view of either the public or the public servants involved in it. He did not believe it would achieve “any real constructive objective”.
Some 70,000 workers who are members of Siptu in the public service yesterday joined thousands of members of the Public Service Executive Union who are engaged in a work-to-rule over the pay cuts imposed in the budget.
During Taoiseach’s questions, Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said he believed that in the absence of a national partnership agreement, there was now effectively a “free-for-all” with any group in a position to lodge a pay claim or take industrial action.
Mr Cowen told the house that while the conclusion of a national pay agreement was “a matter for the parties themselves”, there was “obvious merit in developing arrangements for the orderly conduct of industrial relations in the private sector in the period ahead”.
“The fact that we have not been able to reach agreement on this occasion does not mean that mutually beneficial collaboration and joint problem solving, which has been the hallmark of our model of dialogue in this country for more than two decades, are no longer possible, relevant or desirable.”
“It is true that on this occasion we have struggled to devise and agreed central framework under social partnership appropriate to current circumstances. It clearly suggests that our current model of social partnership needs to evolve further as it has in the past, if it is to be capable of responding to the unique challenges we face – something we and each of the social partners will need to reflect on over the period ahead.”
Mr Cowen said that notwithstanding recent developments, the Government continued to believe “in the value of dialogue as a way of maximising common understanding and engagement between all sectors of society”.
"In particular within the context of the 10-year framework agreement Towards 2016, the Government will continue to consult as appropriate with partners as key stakeholders in the development and implementation of relevant sectoral policies."
The Taoiseach said the Government in its role as employer and the public service unions both recognised that “change is important and both sides know what needs to be done in each sector to achieve change”.
