The Government has tod the public sector it must deliver “better services” as workers strike, amid an increasingly bitter pay dispute.
Some 300,000 public sector workers have downed tools today, shutting organisations as varied as schools, Leinster House and State quangos.
On Newstalk Breakfast, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said the strike is “absolutely not” the Government’s fault.
He also commiserated with the many people who he said would suffer from “significant stress” because of missed healthcare appointments.
“Any strike, it should not be the first response, it should be the last resort,” he argued.
“It should be after a constructive negotiation, it should be after irreconcilable differences that have been hammered out around a table negotiating in good faith and that hasn't happened in this case.
“If you look at the facts here, Government has put out the hand to negotiate.
“It has said very clearly to all our union leaders that the negotiation table is open, it has asked all the leadership of our unions to take their seats and negotiate a fair and sustainable agreement.”
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The Longford–Westmeath TD noted that the Government set aside €1.2 billion for public sector pay in Budget 2027.
However, he stressed that any agreement has to be “affordable” in the long-term.
“I think anyone who is listening can see the growth of the public service over the last number of years,” Minister Burke said.
“It's increased by over 55% in pay terms from 2020 about 78,000 more people working in the public service since 2019.
“It's critical that we see how we can get productivity and better practices and better services for all your listeners, as well as fair pay for all their members.”
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A second day of strike action is scheduled for next Wednesday. However, Minister Burke believes that at some point “this issue will be resolved”.
“We've had pay increases of about 9.6% cumulatively which outpaced inflation of 6.6%,” he added.
“So, that's real wage growth for employees who are in the public service.
“Government wants to be a good employer, we want to offer better pay better conditions
“But we also have to get better services for the public and that's important too.”
Yesterday on Newstalk, Tom Fitzgerald of Unite the Union said many public sector workers have "fallen behind on key payments such as rent, mortgages, bills and loans", because their pay is inadequate.
Main image: Civil servants on strike. Picture by: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie.
