Public sector trade unions have agreed to call off a second day of striking after entering negotiations for a new pay deal with the Government.
Last week schools across the country were closed, and thousands of hospital appointments were cancelled as more than 300,000 public sector workers engaged in strike action.
Unions had warned that there would be a second day of strike action on Wednesday, October 21; however, this has since been suspended.
The Government has since made progress on resolving the unions’ concerns around a pay deal, announcing that it would be appointing an independent third party to construct a basis for negotiations with the unions.
It is understood that Kevin Foley will be conducting ‘an intensive and focused exercise’ aimed at constructing a basis for formal negotiations at the Workplace Relations Commission. This could begin ‘as soon as tomorrow morning’, according to Fórsa.
Following the talks between the Government and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Public Services Committee (ICTU PSC) a meeting of the 19 unions involved in the pay dispute met and agreed to suspend the strike action planned for next week.
PSC Chair Kevin Callinan has since explained to RTÉ’s Six One News that progress became apparent after a phone call from the Taoiseach who was at an EU summit in Brussels.
He said: ‘Crucially, this afternoon the Taoiseach emerged from the European Council meeting in Brussels to telephone me.
‘We had a long conversation where I impressed upon him the way in which cost-of-living pressures were affecting our members. And I believe now that the Government have been listening. Obviously we need to test that in practice in a talks process.’
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has since said he hopes this will ‘allow for all sides to move forward together into meaningful negotiation and ultimately to a successful conclusion.’
He continued: ‘I hugely value the contributions our public service workers make. They are the backbone of our healthcare, social care, education and so many other sectors
‘There is now a real opportunity to make progress where both parties are prepared to come together and explore the various issues, with a genuine commitment to dialogue.’
Meanwhile, Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers stressed there was now ‘a real opportunity to make progress’.
‘I am confident there is a genuine commitment to dialogue and I hope that this initiative will now allow both sides to move forward together into meaningful negotiation,’ he later added.
Mr Callinan has since explained that Mr Foley will be assisted in his process by one trade union and one employer nominee and could begin as soon as tomorrow morning.
