Announcing his intention to sign the ERO in law on August 3rd, Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail Damien English, described the agreement as an example of how well the State-backed negotiating mechanism could work.
All of the assertions are disputed by Siptu’s sectoral organiser, Ed Kenny, who says it is unreasonable that a group of workers, many of whom worked throughout the pandemic, are set to go four years without a pay rise at a time when the cost of living is increasing significantly. Mr Kenny says he cannot understand why the Minister has not been proactive in fighting a case that has so far been mentioned twice on an ex parte in the High Court and is listed for mention again on December 20th with no indication of when it might be resolved.
“I think the fact that Damien English gave such clear notice to the employers of his intention to sign the ERO and the State then did not, at the time of the injunction, enter any legal defence, did not contest the injunction in any way, shape or form, I think that’s very telling,” says Labour Party Senator Marie Sherlock, who does not believe the case, as it stands, will be resolved before the middle of next year.