SIPTU General Secretary, Joe Cunningham, has said that the proposed Programme for Government published today by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party contains initiatives which can improve the lives of working people and their families but falls short in relation to policies on key issues including housing, childcare and collective bargaining rights. “The commitment made by the three parties not to increase the pension age to 67 reflects the concern of our members and many other voters during the February election campaign and we intend to participate in the proposed review of pensions policy which is contained in this Programme for Government. “Similarly, the promise to introduce a long-term sustainable funding model for childcare and early education is welcome. However, significant investment will be necessary to reduce fees for parents and support quality with improved pay for early years educators and the financial targets are not outlined in the document. “There are also detailed but largely un-costed commitments which can bring much needed improvements to the health, education and other sectors while workers in the public service will welcome the commitment to negotiate a new agreement on pay and conditions of employment. “There are welcome aspirations but a lack of ambition in relation to the provision of sufficient numbers of decent, affordable homes to deal with the deepening housing and homeless crisis although the commitment to end the appalling system of direct provision is long overdue. “We note the commitment to retain Irish Water in public ownership and our union will continue to advocate for a referendum to ensure that this promise is enshrined in the Constitution. ‘We are concerned that not enough financial resources are allocated to repair the economic and social fall-out for workers from the Covid-19 pandemic and the continuing threat of a no-deal Brexit. The document does not envisage the scale of investment required to maximise sustainable economic growth and continues to rely on a low-tax model that is not suited to the economic and fiscal challenges ahead. “There will also be disappointment at the failure to include a commitment to enact the Occupied Territories Bill given the current threat by the government of Israel to annex further large swathes of Palestinian lands. “SIPTU representatives will engage with the incoming government to discuss these and other issues should an administration based on this draft Programme for Government emerge in the coming weeks, including in relation to the proposed commissions on Welfare and Taxation and on Just Transition.”
SIPTU says Programme for Government contains positive proposals but falls short on key issues
