GPA members vote for strike action
Friday, 9 November 2007 14:55Gaelic Players' Association members have overwhelmingly voted in favour of strike action from all inter-county competitive games including the pre-season competitions such as the O'Byrne, McKenna and McGrath Cups.
The announcement was made by GPA Chairman Donal Óg Cusack at a press conference in Dublin city centre this afternoon.
Turnout for the ballot was 71.6%.
Of the members that voted, 1281 were in favour of the proposal, which was 95.3%, while just 58 voted against the process with nine spoilt votes.
Although members will be asked to refrain from taking part in games, squads will be asked to continue training and will be updated weekly by a GPA strike committee.
Players will be entitled to play with their clubs in club competitions during the strike.
Cusack read from a prepared statement which stated that the GPA are 'hopeful that a positive outcome can be reached' and that 'there may be a resolution to the issue before 1 January'.
'The GPA believes that a resolution can be found in the interim and accepts the genuine commitment being made by the other two parties to this process. However, while there is optimism, we remain resolute that we will carry out our strike action should the impasse continue indefinitely,' Cusack said.
'Our campaign for the implementation of the grants scheme has been on-going for five years and we have a duty to our members to expedite this important matter which we intend to do.'
The GAA has said it is disappointed by the decision of the players to vote in favour of a strike.
In a response to the situation the association said: 'The concept of Government grants for senior inter-county GAA players was a matter developed by Government representatives and the GPA, independently of the GAA, over a number of years.
'The GAA has supported the concept when requested to do so on the understanding that such grants would be structured and paid on the same basis, through the Irish Sports Council, as applies to other sports.'
