'Significantly improved offer' on pay, says Tánaiste

The Government has made a "significantly improved offer" on public sector pay to resolve an ongoing dispute with trade unions, Tánaiste Simon Harris has said.

On Monday, unions announced plans for a 24-hour strike on Thursday.

They have accused the Government of failing to make a credible offer on pay.

However, Mr Harris has said he thinks "the position is now significantly improved", adding that "there's an onus now on everybody to try and find a landing zone here and resolve this issue".

Speaking on RTÉ's The Week in Politics, he said: "We, the Government, have made a substantially revised and improved offer.

"I would really ask now on the basis of that, everybody works in the hours ahead towards resolution and de-escalation.

"We've got to move this forward."

Mr Harris said nobody wants to see "further disruption" such as school closures or cancelled hospital appointments.

"But we need to have something that's sustainable here," he said.

However, in a message to members of Fórsa this afternoon, the union's General Secretary Kevin Callinan described the current process as "very difficult".

"Preparations are well underway for a 24-hour work stoppage on Thursday 12 November and rallies to mark the strike action and bring members together," Mr Callinan wrote.

"I encourage you to make plans to attend a rally with your colleagues," he added.

Mr Harris said the Government "want to increase the pay of our teachers, of our nurses, of our gardaí, of people working in our public services".

However, he said it must done "in a way that is affordable to the country".

Speaking later in Cork at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis Mr Harris insisted Thursday's strike was not inevitable and he appealed to unions to engage.

"I think it's really important that there is intensive engagement in the hours ahead now to try and avert that.

"The Government has made a new and significantly improved offer.

"I think, from the perspective of public service workers, I would ask now that, against that backdrop and that context, that the work is now towards resolution and de-escalation," he said.

He said there was still a window between now and Thursday to broker an agreement.

"I'm making the point on behalf of the Government that we did respond with a new and, from I think the perspective of public service workers, a significantly improved offer.

"I'd ask that people reflect on that, that they take that very seriously. This is a real effort to help make sure that work in the public service pays, and those working hard are paid a decent wage," he said.

Engagement on public sector dispute to resume tomorrow

Trade unions and Government representatives will continue engagement tomorrow with an independent group in a bid to find a pathway to talks on the ongoing public sector pay dispute.

Meetings with a Government-appointed group chaired by Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) Chair Kevin Foley were held for a number of hours this morning and have now been adjourned for the day.

It is understood unions rejected a Government offer of pay increases worth 7.75% over two and a half years.

General Secretary of Fórsa and Chair of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions' Public Services Committee Kevin Callinan said they are looking for a better deal than the last public sector pay agreement.

The previous deal was worth 10.25% over two and a half years. It expired at the end of June.

As part of Thursday's strike, workers will be encouraged to march in rallies rather than stage pickets outside their workplaces.

There will be eight demonstrations across the country from 12pm to 2pm, with the largest taking place in Dublin.

The demonstrations will coincide with a major meeting of world leaders in the capital as part of Ireland's EU Presidency.

It is understood the Dublin rally may involve striking workers marching from O'Connell Street to Government Buildings, but the logistics are still being worked out.

Extensive road closures and traffic restrictions will be in place because of the European Summit.

The other rallies will be held in Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Sligo, Tullamore and Letterkenny.

After next week's strike, unions said they will intensify the work-to-rule action that is already under way across the public sector and will look at taking further industrial action.

Mr Callinan said future action may take the form of rolling strikes in individual sectors of the public service.

Delays in agreeing to a new public sector pay deal led to a 24-hour strike by more than 300,000 public sector workers last month.

Government approach to pay talks criticised

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin TD John Brady has said a realistic offer should have been put on the table initially.

"Why wasn't that offer put on the table prior to now?" he said, adding it "would have averted the previous industrial action" in which 300,000 public service workers "were forced to take, which brought the country to a standstill".

Speaking on RTÉ's The Week in Politics, he added: "Hopefully there is a sense of reality now emerging from the Government that there hopefully should, and will be, an understanding of the reality our public service workers are experiencing with the cost of living crisis, the rate of inflation and that whatever offer is now being put on the table is realistic to avert any further industrial action taking place."

"The government took its eye off the ball" in regard to the issue of public sector pay, Independent TD Paul Gogarty has said.

"They could have sorted it out before the budgetary process and they didn't."

Speaking on the same programme, he said: " I think you have to look at it and say 'let's restore the pay for once and for all and then get an agreement with the unions to link it to the level of inflation'.

"If you use the right budgetary policies, and put more into services rather than across the board, blanket kind of tax cuts, you're going to see a situation where the rising costs will be kept at a steadier level."

Minister of State Marian Harkin has said she hopes "cool heads" can resolve the dispute.

Also speaking on The Week in Politics, she said: "This is a negotiation between Government and the unions to get a fair reasonable increase for public sector workers that is sustainable, and everybody wants to see that.

"I fully agree nobody wants to see a strike, most of all I think the people involved in the unions."

Additional reporting Sandra Hurley