On March 29, public service unions and government officials reconvened for talks aimed at resolving the row over public sector pay and reform. Public service unions have been engaged in a go-slow industrial action for two months in protest at pay cuts. Labour Relations Commission (LRC) Chief Executive, Kieran Mulvey, said that negotiators had “brought a lot of the issues a long way” in the marathon talks. However, he admitted that the crucial issue of pay still had to be tackled. A day earlier, the Community Platform, representing 29 national anti-poverty and equality organisations, urged the government to work with the trade union confederation (Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU) to agree a solution for low-paid public sector workers and avoid social welfare services being affected by industrial action over the coming weeks. Speaking on behalf of the Community Platform, Anne Costello said it stood in solidarity “with those public sector workers who have been hit so hard by the unequal choices made by this government.”
English: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0329/1224267278823.html; http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0329/pay.html via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Ireland
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