Kieran Mulvey, Labour Relations Commission Chief Executive, has come in for recent criticisms from Government Ministers (Lucinda Creighton) over his warning that changes to the Croke Park Agreement could lead to industrial unrest and potential industrial action. The Government have been looking for ways to address the huge wage bill of the Public Sector, and abolishing the Croke Park Agreement is seen by some to be the only way to do this.
Kieran Mulvey and the LRC brokered the deal for the Croke Park agreement, and his comments have been misinterpreted by some to be a threat that any amendments will lead to strike action. In what has become a war of words Ms. Creighton has said that Mr. Mulvey has no right to direct any political party or politician for he seemed to be over-reaching his position. She added that instead of giving commands, why not “concentrate on what he is actually supposed to be doing" The Chief Executive has come out to publically say that there are mechanisms in place as part of the agreement to deal with matters such as the current economic climate, and that these mechanisms should be utilised instead of a flat-out abolishment of the agreement, which could lead to civil unrest, which by all accounts could be true and is not so much a threat as it is a general assessment as to how the current situation may realistically pan out. The Croke Park Agreement, is a commitment between the Irish Government and public sector unions to work together to change the way the Public Service does its business. In compliance with the agreement, the Government provided certain assurances to serving public servants, particularly on their pay rates and reductions, depending on the delivery of the savings. All parties are agreed that the Croke Park deal is unrealistic to maintain in the current economic climate and that the current climate warrants sufficient rationale to reexamine the deal (clause 1.28). It is becoming a very publicised issue with several other Ministers publically stating the deal needs to be re-examined, and is an issue I would see being prevalent in the run up to Decembers budget.
