Since you marched on the 17th May, the National Executive mounted a picket outside Leinster House on Tuesday 23rd May. This picket gave the President, myself and the National Executive members more of an opportunity to meet politicians and to seek their support than we had had the opportunity to do after our march. It was also an opportunity to continue to exert pressure on Government and to remind them that we will persist on our campaign to press for our demands to be met. I am pleased to say our march has caused Government to take AGSI and our concerns much more seriously. Following our march we were approached by the Minister for Justice’s office with a request to meet. We were also invited to a meeting with the Government Chief Whip, Deputy Regina Doherty. AGSI also had two meetings with the Department of Justice, one meeting was attended by a representative from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
Details of Our Engagement to Date
The President, General Secretary and Secretary have availed of all opportunities to engage officially with Government in order to resolve our dispute. Our delegation attended the following meetings:
Meeting with Deputy Regina Doherty, Government Chief Whip
We met with Deputy Doherty on 24th May where we outlined our issues to her directly. While we did receive a sympathetic ear the message emanating from Government is that there is only one process open to us, the Lansdowne Road Agreement. We believe that there are people in the corridors of power anxious to engage with AGSI to address our concerns. We are, however, concerned that there is serious resistance to accommodate all our demands within some Government departments.
Meeting with the Department of Justice and DPER
Since our march and Dail protest we have had two meetings (21st May & 28th May) with senior officials from the Department of Justice. The second meeting was attended by a senior official from Department of Expenditure and Reform. Our first meeting was simply exploratory talks to see if we were interested in talking and to identify again our concerns. The second progressed matters little. However, AGSI got a commitment from the Department of Justice to prepare a discussion paper based on our concerns for us to consider.
Meeting with the Minister for Justice
On 31st May our delegation was joined by Vice-President Rory Brennan, when we attended a meeting with the Minister for Justice and her officials. This meeting was convened at the Minister’s request wherein she indicated that she was anxious to bring AGSI back under Lansdowne Road and the Commission on Public Sector Pay. She once again trumpeted Government’s position that nothing can be done to address our needs outside the Lansdowne Road process. She committed to working with us to resolve our issues. Once again we left with promises but little commitment.
Discussion Paper from Justice
The AGSI National Executive received a discussion paper from Justice on Friday 27th May. This document was considered by the National Executive on Monday 30th May. To provide space for both sides AGSI suspended our protest outside the office of the Taoiseach and Tánaiste which was planned for that date.
Current Position
The National Executive has agreed to confine our discussion on this paper confidential at this time. That said the AGSI National Executive see a large gap between what is proposed and what we need to achieve for our members. AGSI has committed to a further meeting with the Department of Justice to advance our concerns and have them reflected in any proposals. The National Executive is very conscious of the deadline looming on the 1st July for many of our members. It is our intention in the first instance to have this deadline shifted to allow scope for discussion to be concluded. I cannot provide any reassurances at this point that this will happen. However I am committed, as is the National Executive, to preserving increments while we negotiate on our other concerns.
Continuing the fight
It may not be possible or indeed appropriate to advise members of the outcome of every meeting we attend to address your issues on pay and related matters. However, we will advise members again later this month as to the direction we see matters heading. The National Executive is still considering the need to convene a Special Delegate Conference on this matter. As we move through meetings and see matters developing we will be better placed over the next few weeks to determine when such a conference will take place or if it is necessary.You will be kept up to date on the National Executive’s decision on this as soon as things become clearer through negotiations. The National Executive is still working vigorously on your behalf on pay and related matters. I would like to thank members for their support and patience and hopefully we will be able to move matters along quickly to your benefit.
Post Views: 5
