Irish Public Sector Unions Suspend Second Strike Day for Mediated Talks with Government
Irish public sector trade unions have suspended a second day of widespread strikes planned for next week, after agreeing on Friday to begin mediated discussions with the government this weekend on the terms for new pay talks.
Much of Ireland's public sector — including teachers, health workers and civil servants — walked out on Wednesday in the country's first major strike in almost two decades. The stoppage followed months in which unions and ministers had failed to agree on the basis for negotiations over pay rises.
The two sides agreed on Friday to begin a process aimed at finding a basis for formal negotiations to commence. Kevin Callinan, chair of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions' public services committee, told national broadcaster RTÉ: 'I believe that there is now a prospect of progress in the process that has been established. Obviously we will need to see the government's words backed up in practice.'
The suspended strike had been scheduled for Wednesday, October 21; public services are expected to operate as normal next week while talks proceed, and whether the action is ultimately called off will depend on progress in the negotiations.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于都柏林的爱尔兰议会大厦伦斯特宫。图片来源：David Kernan，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 4.0。Photo: Leinster House in Dublin, seat of the Irish parliament. Image: David Kernan, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
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