By Stephen Rogers

Thursday, October 08, 2009

THE general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has said public services will collapse if the Government presses through ?4bn in spending cuts in the sector in the December Budget.

Speaking at the SIPTU biennial conference in Cork, David Begg said there were no circumstances in which the cuts could be achieved without it having "the most catastrophic effects on the whole civilised society."

The Government wants to reduce Exchequer spending to 3% of GDP by 2013 but ICTU is pushing for that to be extended to 2017 and he points out such an extension has been adopted by French president Nicholas Sarkozy.

"You cannot crucify people by forcing this adjustment in such a short period of time," he said.

The SIPTU conference was told by its president Jack O?Connor that the Government "intends to ride roughshod over everybody who gets in the way".

"We are going to be exposed to a campaign, the likes of which, we have not seen before in this country," he said. "That campaign is going to be focussed on working people across the economy. It is going to be designed to divide worker against worker and it is going to be designed tosuggest that we in the leadership in this movement and the wider labour movement do not appreciate the scale of the issues that are confronting all of the people of this country." Mr O?Connor once again said there will be strikes by his members before the December budget in order to achieve either pay increases agreed under the national wage agreement last September or the negotiation of a new deal.

He said strikes were necessary in light of the response of employers and the Government to that call.

"I do not believe that they believe it until they actually see. That is what is coming across now."

Laying out the union executive?s strategy, he said that the campaign of industrial action will not be focussed in any particular sector.

"The campaign will be open to workers across the economy who are members of our union to participate in.

"It will be extended to workers who were the subject of pay cuts, where pay cuts have been inflicted, where they have been threatened, where they have been signalled and if there are workers who have not yet obtained the terms or where their employer is not in compliance with the terms of the agreement negotiated last year to participate as well."

Also at yesterday?s conference, members who work at F?s expressed their disgust with recent events at the training agency.

The union?s branchorganiser at F?s, Brendan O?Boyle said the vast majority of members working there deliver an essential public service in virtually every sector of society.