Unions campaign against 'Bord Snip'

Unions who represent more than 100,000 public servants providing round the clock services are to launch a campaign of opposition to the implementation of the report of An Bord Snip Nua.

Following a joint meeting this evening the group of unions and representative bodies, said it was clear Colm McCarthy's committee wanted to have pay and allowances taken away from front line public servants.

It said that the McCarty group wanted payments for unsocial hours and other localised arrangements "torn up and cast aside".

The unions said they were also opposed to the McCarthy proposal to close Garda stations and to take 6,000 beds out of the health service.

The group of unions and rep bodies described the McCarty report as "flawed, damaging and detrimental to public servants and public services".

The unions and rep bodies involved in the campaign, resident nurses, gardai, prison offices and rank and file members of the defence forces.

Other public servants such as ambulance personnel and fire service are also likely to join the campaign in the future.

The general secretary of the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) Liam Doran said that the group of unions and representative bodies "absolutely opposed" the McCarthy proposals. He said that the frontline staff concerned provided essential services and that society needed them.

"If the banks are of systemic value to Ireland we would argue that essential services such as health, policing and the defence forces are also of systemic value. They need to be protected and the people providing them need to be protected they are already providing their fair share. "

Mr Doran said that the McCarty report had been written by a group of economists on "a cosy platform detached from reality".

Mr Doran said that it was too early to say whether the opposition to the McCarthy report would lead to industrial action

He said the some of the representative bodies in the campaign were prohibited from going on strike but that that weapon was available to some groups.

The group of unions and representative bodies are to organise four regional meetings of frontline public sector groups in the week ahead as part of the start of the campaign.

Last Sunday the chief executive of the HSE Brendan Drumm signalled that his organisation may look for government support to allow it to cut back on up to €1 billion paid annually to staff in overtime allowance and premium pay.