Irish Labor Union Calls Off March 30 National Strike

[Omaha Steve]

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090325-708996.html

* MARCH 25, 2009, 10:22 A.M. ET

DUBLIN (Dow Jones)--Ireland's umbrella body for trade unions Wednesday called off a national strike set for March 30 and accepted an invitation by Prime Minister Brian Cowen to talk about a coordinated response to the economic crisis.

David Begg, general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, or ICTU, said unions will ask the government to borrow more, around 11% of gross domestic product this year compared with the 9.5% target set by government.

Cowen responded to the agreement to enter talks, saying: "What we are trying to do is build on the framework that was agreed at the end of January to see if it's possible to proceed with agreement on a range of issues."

Industrial action, protesting public sector wage cuts and the way the government is handling the crisis, had threatened to ground all planes arriving and departing from Ireland's major airports and bring many public education and health services to a virtual standstill.

The Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union, which represents 200,000 workers as the largest trade union, and the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union, the country's largest engineering union, representing 45,000 members, were among those planning to strike.

However, members of the country's largest public and services sector union, Impact, which represents about 55,000 workers, narrowly rejected the strike action: 65% of members voted in favor of striking, but a majority of 66% is needed.

FULL story at link.