explanatory document

Attn: All INO Members

From:  Liam Doran, General Secretary

Re:  CAMPAIGN OF ACTION - PHASE 2 (ESCALATION)

Dear Colleague

As you will have seen or heard, from today’s media coverage, the Public Service Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions met this morning (Monday, 8th March 2010), to discuss the escalation, of the current campaign of action, which is seeking a reversal of the pay cuts, protection of pensions and job security in the public service.

At this morning’s meeting, and following detailed discussion, the following approach was finalised:

1. 
All public service unions within each sector of the public service, (health, education, civil service, local government and non commercial semi-state) must now move to escalate their current action and this escalation must include the withdrawal of labour.

2. 
The unions in each sector are now to meet, within seven days, in order to agree the nature, form and timing of this escalation.

3. 
In a situation where a group of unions, in any given sector, do not reach consensus, with regard to the exact nature and form of the escalation, then each union will escalate, in a form which includes the withdrawal of labour, within that sector, providing it advises its sister unions of its proposed action.

4. 
The INMO Executive Council has already agreed that our preferred approach to any escalation would be rolling regional work stoppages of two hours duration.  We will be seeking support for this form of escalation when we now meet with all other health service unions.

5. 
It can now be expected that today’s Public Services Committee decision will result in varying forms of action, across the public service, ranging from two hour rolling strikes to half day stoppages to targeted continuous action.

6. 
The Health Service Staff Panel of unions will now meet to consider the form of escalation which will apply in the health service consistent with the parameters now laid down by the Public Services Committee.

7. 
The commencement date of this escalation, at individual union or sector level, will be determined by the unions in each sector and will be announced shortly.

It should be noted that there remains an increasing probability that public servants, either working in the civil service or health service (clerical/administrative grades), could be disciplined (taken off the payroll) in the short term, due to the nature of the current action, and this would obviously result in an immediate escalation in those areas.  Any such escalation will be consistent with the cross union solidarity pact, already agreed, and see the March edition of the World of Irish Nursing and Midwifery for details.

At this time no talks/discussions with the government are planned/agreed.

A further update will issue when the nature, form and commencement date of this escalation, for the health sector, has been agreed by all health service unions.

We are now entering a critical phase of this campaign and the full solidarity of every member, to whatever decisions regarding escalation are finally made, will be required without exception.  In advance of any escalation there will, of course, be a need to serve notice on all health employers and there will also be many meetings at individual workplace level.

Thank you for your attention to this note and please bring it to the attention of all members in your workplace.

Yours sincerely

LIAM DORAN
General Secretary