SIPTU and Fórsa unite in Monaghan pay strike

Public sector workers in Monaghan took industrial action today, Wednesday, October 14, calling for commitments under the previous public service pay agreement to be honoured by the Government and for a new deal that reflects the rising cost of living.

There was a presence at every public building across Monaghan and The Anglo-Celt spoke to two Monaghan Co Council employees who are spokespersons for trade unions SIPTU and FÓRSA.

Stephen Kelly, chairman of the Monaghan branch for SIPTU outdoor staff, who was at Monaghan Peace Campus this afternoon, said a one per cent local bargaining increase remained unpaid, while a further two per cent had been expected as the previous agreement rolled into fresh negotiations.

“They didn't honour the previous agreement,” he said. “We're looking for the agreement honoured, which is the 1% from over 12 months local bargaining, and the 2% that was promised as part of the roll on to the next agreement.”

He argued that the amount allocated in the Budget would not cover what workers believed was already due. “

It's not even 3%, and we can argue that we're owed 3% from the previous agreement,” he said. Looking beyond the outstanding increases, Kelly said any new settlement would also have to respond to inflation: “We need to beat inflation, but we're not beating it. We're not even getting above it.”

Kelly said the action had strong local backing.

“We had a 96% turnout, we had 98% for industrial and 98% for strike,” he said, adding that there had been “good numbers” on the picket line. He described the public response on Wednesday as “fantastic”, with motorists sounding their horns in support and no hostile reaction.

The SIPTU representative said pressure on working households was being felt through heating, transport and education costs. Referring to his own family’s experience of meeting college expenses, he said: “The middle is squeezed and there was nothing (in the Budget) for the middle.”

He also stressed the position of council outdoor staff, describing them as “one of the lowest paid”.

The dispute has brought members of the public service unions together, and Kelly said the campaign had also strengthened union organisation locally. He estimated that membership across the three unions had grown by between 10 and 15 per cent. While negotiations remained in the hands of union representatives, he said workers were ready to mobilise again if required: “There'll be no problem getting the people out.”

At the roundabout outside the M:TEK industrial estate in Monaghan, where there were several pickets dotted around the roundabout and outside Monaghan Education Campus, Dominic Mahon, branch vice-chair of Monaghan Health and Local Government FÓRSA, said members had reached a breaking point over pay and the cost of living.

“In real terms, our pay is actually 5% behind inflation once inflation has been taken into account,” he said. Describing industrial action as a last resort, he added: “Public servants don’t strike lightly.”

Mahon said Fórsa members remained committed to serving their communities: “We do enjoy our jobs, we enjoy doing what we do, we do enjoy serving the public.”

However, he said workers could no longer absorb the pressure on household budgets: “The pay packet doesn’t last from one pay period to the next.”

Pointing to the turn-out for the action and the support shown locally, he urged the Government to conclude an agreement: “We know the deal is going to be done. So just quit the messing or grandstanding - just get to the point and do the deal.”

On union membership and protection, Mahon said the dispute had prompted “a huge uptake nationally in numbers of guys joining the union”. He said newer public-sector workers were recognising “the importance of union membership for protecting workers’ rights and pay” as well as improvements in workplace terms and conditions, adding: “That’s only achievable through union membership.”

Mahon said he “couldn’t even conceive not being in a union” and argued that future members would be the ones “fighting for the pay and terms and conditions” of the next generation of workers.