Industrial action by public-sector trade unions, due to begin this week, is the economic equivalent of kicking a man when he is down. Having suffered a series of devastating setbacks over the past 18 months, the Irish economy remains in a fragile state. The effort required by government to solve our financial mess is exhausting. The continuing effort by public-service unions to frustrate measures which affect their members is equally wearying. The government was ahead on points but, like two heavyweights who cannot be separated, the battle drags on.
David Begg, Jack O'Connor and other union leaders warned after last December's budget that industrial action would be taken in protest at the pay cuts imposed on the public sector. A decision was taken to delay any disruptions until early in 2010, but that may have been a strategic mistake. The Christmas and new year holiday represents a break between the old and the new. By waiting until the holiday season ended before beginning protests, the union leaders have lost whatever impetus they may have had in the immediate aftermath of the budget. The government, like the rest of us, has moved on.
As a nation we are recovering from the disruption to normal routines caused by the worst winter conditions in more than 40 years. There is also huge uncertainty at a political level following the revelation on St Stephen's Day that Brian Lenihan, the finance minister, is suffering a serious form of cancer. Mr Lenihan, the most important figure in the cabinet and the only possible architect of any financial recovery, may yet decide to retire to manage his health issues and that would precipitate a cabinet reshuffle.
Against this background the announcement that public sector workers will stage a series of disruptive actions, including a refusal to co-operate with reform programmes and a work to rule, creates the impression of a movement interested only in fighting last year's battles. The near 4 billion in spending adjustments outlined in December is now a historical footnote, a first step on a road that will require equally severe measures over three years.
While the pay cuts announced last month are painful, those affected have had a number of weeks to prepare themselves. The swingeing income levies imposed on all taxpayers last year have already been absorbed. So too have the pay freezes, pay cuts and reduced working hours imposed on workers in the private sector. Coming to terms with redundancy is another matter, but not one that need concern permanent employees in the public sector who, unlike their private-sector counterparts, have no fears that their employer will go out of business overnight.
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The unions are sore that the government has torn up the social partnership roadmap and that the two decades during which they enjoyed unelected power has come to an end. Instead of stamping their feet, they should accept that the world as they knew it has changed.
The battle cry that the public sector has been unfairly targeted by the government is nonsense. There is simply no way that cuts in public spending can be avoided. This sector was allowed to get out of control in terms of employee numbers and pay increases since the first benchmarking process.
The mantra that public servants "didn't create" our financial crisis is disingenuous. Whether they did or not, public servants are central to the problem now. The taxes generated by the now largely bankrupt property sector, and the capital gains paid by now financially distressed investors, were re-directed by Bertie Ahern's government into better pay packages and conditions for public servants. The bar is closed; it's time for the unions to leave the premises.