In view of the wage demands, the danger of mass strikes is growing

The threat of mass labor unrest grows as the cost of living crisis triggers wage demands of up to 10 percent.

Thousands of workers in the community sector demanding pay rises to stem rising inflation plan a national day of protest in Dublin today.

Adrian Kane, the organizer of Siptu’s public administration and community department, warned that votes for industrial action would follow in June, with no talks of pay rises to reflect increases in the public sector.

Public servant negotiators are demanding bigger pay rises after invoking a review clause in Building Momentum’s current pay agreement.

Mr Kane said an original claim for a 3 per cent pay rise was served on employers funded by HSE grants. “We will seek any further increase negotiated under future collective agreements in the public sector,” he said.

The union represents workers in organizations such as Rehab Group, Western Care, Pieta House, Jobclubs, Inclusion Ireland and the Irish Wheelchair Association.

Workers at Bausch + Lomb in Waterford have already voted for wage strikes.

This follows the rejection of an 8.25 percent three-year wage deal recommended by the Labor Court.

Tesco workers are targeting a 10% pay increase over 12 months, raising the lower end of the pay scale to a living wage of €12.90 an hour. A hearing before the labor court is scheduled to take place next month, the mandate union confirmed. A Tesco spokesman declined to comment.

Managers at Eir submitted a motion for a union conference next week that would seek a one-off 10 percent pay rise for all members of the Communications Workers Union.

The motion says this is “to help combat the cost of living due to inflation approaching 5 percent this year.”

When asked for comment, a union spokesman said the motion had been withdrawn because he had secured a 6 percent wage contract for three years.

Siptu has made claims for 6 per cent pay rises at Dublin Port, Peel Ports and Doyle Shipping in Dublin.

At Dublin Bus, unions are putting forward plans for an annual pay rise in the range of 3.75% to 4% after members rejected earlier proposals.

ICTU affiliated union leaders are expected to meet next month to review their already revised wages strategy.

Pressure is mounting on unions to seek higher pay increases from members locked into multi-year contracts with modest pay increases. However, revising agreements without review clauses also creates conflict with some unions, who see it as undermining normal industrial relations protocols.

Organizer of Siptu’s transport, energy, aviation and construction divisions, Karan O Loughlin, said collective agreements without review clauses would be re-examined.

“People of average money are faced with energy bill increases of €400. Where are they supposed to get the money from? Or service workers in the city of Dublin where the rent is €1,972 a month,” she asked.

Stratis Consulting managing partner Brendan McGinty has warned that a change in wages strategy by some unions will put more jobs at risk at a time of “highest uncertainty”.

Mr McGinty, a former Ibec official who is on the board of the Workplace Relations Commission, said attempts to reinstate existing this-year and next-year pay agreements that do not have review clauses should be strongly opposed.