Hope for progress on public sector talks ‘shortly’, Jack Chambers says

The Public Expenditure Minister has told the Dáil he is “hopeful” that progress on a dispute with public sector unions will come “shortly”.

Jack Chambers was responding to the Labour Party’s private members’ business on public sector pay, one day after hundreds of thousands of public sector workers took part in a national 24-hour strike.

With another strike threatened for next Wednesday, he said: “I want to make clear that I want to make progress, and I am hopeful that may be possible to find a way forward shortly – in the national interests, in workers’ interests, and the interests of the millions of people who rely on our public services.”

Mr Chambers added: “I know you wanted a specific update, but as this is a sensitive matter and work is ongoing, deputies will understand I am not in a position to provide specific or further detail at this time.

“However, I hope to be able to provide further details shortly and as part of an agreed way forward.”

The public sector workers – including nurses, doctors, teachers and civil servants – launched the national strike after first engaging in work-to-rule action.

As pickets were staged around the country, impacts included the closure of schools, rescheduling of thousands of non-emergency hospital appointments, and the cancellation of driving tests and most court hearings.

Labour TD Ged Nash accused Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Mr Chambers of taunting public sector workers and questioning their democratic mandate to strike.

“We must remember there was an overwhelming mandate among public sector workers for the action we saw yesterday. We all need to understand why that action was taken,” he told the Dáil on Thursday.

“We have heard the minister (Mr Chambers) say in recent days that pay would not be prioritised in the context of any public sector pay talks.

“He then said that it would be prioritised along with other matters in a meaningless and pointless letter to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Ictu, on Monday, in a last-minute effort to try to avert Wednesday’s action.”

Earlier, the Taoiseach said there “clearly is a platform for negotiations” with public service unions as he expressed hope that “behind-the-scenes work” would result in a formal process.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels on Thursday, Mr Martin said: “We want a national pay agreement. We have provided substantial funding for that. We want negotiations to commence in respect of that.

“Previous agreements were over two and a half years, three years in the past – so there’s a framework there that we can create.”

He added: “I think the most important thing now is for both sides to get into a negotiating process.”

Speaking during Leaders’ Questions, Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said 1.2 billion euro was set aside in the budget to allow for the start of talks.

“That is not the complete picture. From previous public sector pay agreements, the last two in particular, we know the final agreement was well above and beyond what the inflation rate was at the time,” the Fine Gael minister added.

“That is the point we want to get to. It requires the Government and the unions sitting down together. I believe that is what the unions want. I believe the goodwill is there on both sides.

“We all want the Government and the unions to sit down now so we can get into substantive talks and, importantly, reach an agreement that will mean public sector workers see their increases as quickly as possible, as well as addressing other elements that we will naturally be talking about.”

On Wednesday evening, Mr Chambers said his officials were “absolutely” happy for pay to be the first discussion topic in talks and described the 1.2 billion euro provided for public service pay in the budget as a “starting point”.