Sir, – So now we have it. Civil servants and public sector workers – ie, the Government – won’t talk to civil servants and public sector workers about a pay deal for themselves. Meanwhile, trade unions, with all sorts of different letter salad names (Siptu, Fórsa, Unite, etc) are agitating and stoking up their members.
The outcome of this has been a national strike, to be followed by another one on October 21st.
Meanwhile, private sector workers continue to go to work to pay for all of this. After all, we in the private sector are unofficial members of the trade union WPFAOT (we pay for all of this).
Most of the industrial action is a charade. It’s predictable. Moaning and groaning mixed with indignation, exasperation, etc, will ultimately result in talks and a bumper pay deal.
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After months of no talks, suddenly talks will be convened and they will go on all through the night or nights. (Why they have to go on “through the night” every time is beyond me.) Then news will break that after “mammoth pay talks” a new pay deal has been agreed. The cost will be at least €2 billion, I believe. Sure, why not and whatever you’re having yourself.
Meanwhile, the private sector will continue to go to work.
But how about if the private sector takes a different approach this time? For the second day of public sector strikes how about if the private sector takes the day off as well? This will make the day a national holiday. We’ll all be happy then (at least for a day). – Yours, etc,
BRIAN CULLEN,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
