What the unions say

AHCPS General secretary Ciaran Rohan

The Government faces knock-on claims and the potential collapse of the Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA) as a direct impact of the garda pay proposals.

Impact

The biggest public sector union has called for the Government to make immediate arrangements to negotiate accelerated pay recovery for all public servants.

The union said in a statement: "It is in the best interests of all public servants - the weakest as well as the strongest - that their pay and working conditions are negotiated collectively."

PDFORRA

PDFORRA represents thousands of Defence Forces personnel and has called for access to the State mediation bodies. General secretary Gerry Rooney has written to Defence Minister Paul Kehoe. "It's unconscionable to grant access to those (garda) groups and not to grant it to PDFORRA," he said.

Siptu

The country's largest union said the Labour Court ruling represented "opportunities" for certain public sector workers. Vice-president Gene Mealy said: "We are in the process of evaluating the Labour Court recommendation in respect of the Garda Síochána. Clearly, the recommendation presents opportunities and expectations among some public sector workers."

Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO)

The union has demanded immediate discussion of pay policy with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and described the Lansdowne Road Agreement as "untenable". "They've changed parameters. My members expect health service management to show the same degree of imagination," the organisation's general secretary Liam Doran said. "The LRA hasn't got any tenure or strength behind it and was essentially rewritten on Thursday night."

The Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants (AHCPS)

The union has called on the Government to accelerate the process of pay restoration and earlier engagement for a successor to the Lansdowne Road Agreement.

General secretary Ciaran Rohan said: "Our members have suffered cuts to their salaries of up to 23pc and average net pay levels are the same as they were over 13 years ago."

Unite

The union called for an "extraordinary" meeting of ICTU to renegotiate the Lansdowne Road Agreement "in light of the recent developments".

Regional co-ordinating officer Richie Browne said: "It is clear that the Lansdowne Road Agreement is not delivering for workers and must be replaced with a new agreement. Depending on the outcome of the Extraordinary General Meeting of the ICTU's Public Services Committee, Unite's agreement can be revisited, reconsidered and reversed."

The Civil Public and Services Union (CPSU)

The union has made similar calls for a meeting to reassess the collective union strategy on pay conditions and restoration of pay cuts.

General secretary Eoin Ronayne said that while the union would have to study the offer made to the garda associations, its members would want to be afforded the same "flexibilities within the LRA" that were identified this week.

Irish Independent