Published: 09 February 2009

Unions prepare for pension levy protests

[Source: Irish Times]

FIRM PLANS for union protests against the Government's new pension levy for public service staff and the deferral of increases under the national pay deal are likely to emerge within the next few days, one of the country's top trade union leaders has said.

Peter McLoone, the general secretary of Impact and the chairman of the public services committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said last night that an unprecedented reaction from public servants had boosted union opposition to the new levy.

He said unions would want to harness public dismay at mounting job losses, as well as anger at the public service pension levy.

Mr McLoone also said that unions would want to pressurise the Government into fair and equitable economic recovery measures based on the framework document on economic recovery agreed by the Government and the social partners before the talks collapsed last week.

Union sources said there had been no contact yet with the Government on the application of the levy. Last week Taoiseach Brian Cowen indicated in the Dáil that he would be willing to engage in talks with the unions on a possible 'tweaking' of the levy.

Ictu's public services committee is to meet tomorrow, while the organisation's executive council is to meet on Wednesday to consider a joint trade union response to the levy, the failure to agree economic recovery measures through social partnership, and 'the Government and Ibec's declaration that agreed pay increases will be withheld from all workers regardless of their employers' ability to pay.'

In the meantime, individual unions are also to meet to consider their own stance on the levy.

The executive of the trade union representing lower-paid civil servants, the CPSU, will consider possible industrial action, among a number of options, as a response to the introduction of the new levy, when it meets today.

The executive council of the Irish Nurses Organisation is also to hold a special meeting today to examine details of the levy and to assess the feedback from members and other public sector unions.

Impact has already announced a major campaign of lobbying of TDs next weekend. Mr McLoone said he welcomed statements from some other unions that they would adopt similar strategies.

Mr McLoone said that while unions wanted to effectively oppose the unfair public service levy they also wanted to maintain the focus on issues of employment, pensions and economic recovery.

'A big part of the anger among public servants comes from the fact that workers alone have been singled out to make sacrifices "whether it be job losses or the unfair public service levy" while top executives and the wealthy have not been asked to make any tangible contribution.'

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