Public sector unions accept Croke Park deal

Updated: 22:41, Tuesday, 15 June 2010

Public sector unions have formally ratified the Croke Park pay and reform agreement.

1 of 1Prison Officers - Were the last union to vote
Prison Officers - Were the last union to vote

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions this afternoon.

The final result was 1,899 delegate votes in favour with 986 votes against - a margin of almost two to one.

The ratification had been a foregone conclusion after the two biggest unions SIPTU and IMPACT revealed last Friday that their members had conclusively backed the deal.

The deal guarantees no compulsory redundancies or further pay cuts over the next four years for around 300,000 public servants in return for cooperation with an extensive transformation and efficiency drive.

It also provides for progressive reimbursement of pay cuts starting with those earning below €35,000 a year from savings made from the reform programme.

The Government is now expected to establish an implementation body to ensure that the proposals are given full effect.

As yet it is unclear how unions whose members rejected the deal will react.

The Teachers' Union of Ireland, who rejected the deal by a margin of three to one, has already indicated it may not consider itself bound by an overall yes vote by public sector unions.

The TUI will consider the situation at an executive meeting on 24 June.

Other unions that voted 'no' include the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, the Irish Federation of University Teachers, The Civil Public and Services Union, UNITE, the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union and the Prison Officers Association.

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