Warnings of industrial action as concers that fuel prices could rise by 30%

The Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke has warned that the price of energy could increase

by almost a third if the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues.

The Minister was speaking as unions and employers met at the Labour Employer Economic Forum

at Government Buildings this morning.

The future is very uncertain right now because we know the current crisis does not look

like stopping anytime soon.

The Strait has still blocked.

The price of energy is going to increase.

We know a lot of the foreign contracts that our energy suppliers have come midward

through the year.

You could see price increases of 30% upwards if this blockade continues.

That's going to have pretty significant consequences for the economy.

We also know if the Strait continues to be blocked what the price of oil could go

per barrel, which could be pretty significant in the weeks ahead.

So we are in a very uncertain juncture, all of which is due to geopolitical circumstances.

Minister Burke also insisted that the government's latest fuel support package would benefit

workers.

However, the General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Union's own Reedy warned

that industrial action could be inevitable if paid amounts from unions aren't met.

I mean, what we want to see is a process where government engage with us over the coming

weeks on fundamental issues that will protect workers in this cost of living crisis, some

permanent, some temporary, and they need to be reviewed.

Because we think it's going to get worse before it gets better.

But if the government aren't prepared to do that, well, our unions are going to have

to look and say, how do we protect workers, incomes, family household incomes over the

next period if we're on our own?

The only way to do that is at the workplace, both public, private and commercial semi-state.

And inflation, we estimate, is going to be about 4% now.

So we cannot negotiate paying increases that are less than inflation.

Owen Reedy, there of the ICTU, our work and technology correspondent Brian O'Donovan

is following today's talks.

Brian, that was a fairly stark warning from Minister Peter Burke about further energy

price increases.

Absolutely, Rachel, and I can tell you just literally in the last few minutes these

talks have concluded the Trade Union leaders have just left the talks and they're just

speaking to the media here alongside me and just caught the very, very top of what Owen

Reedy, the ICTU general secretary, was telling the assembled media in the last few seconds.

He said that at today's talks, it was the employers and the unions that did most of the

talking.

And he said the government were very much in listening mode.

But yes, coming back to your question, Peter Burke was doing a lot of the talking as

he arrived at today's talks earlier this morning, stopping and taking some time to speak

with the media and taking some time to outline those stark threats using big figures, like

saying a 30% increase in energy prices towards the end of the year if we continue to see

blockages in the straight of Hormuz speaking about jet fuel, speaking about how jet fuel

is interlinked with kerosene, which is of course what people use for home heating oil

in this country.

So really laying out in stark terms, the challenges and the uncertainty that is there,

and I guess that was his opening position, his negotiating position, as he went into

the talks with the unions today.

What was the mood at the talks, Brian, because over the past few days we've heard union

representatives saying, PAYE workers are asking, where's their package?

Absolutely, and that was most certainly the mood from the union leaders as they went

in, a sense of what about us, a sense of here we have a case where it's whoever shouts

the loudest gets the most money.

And they're pointing out that, you know, we've been the good boys and girls, we've

abided by the industrial relations rules, we've done our pay deals, which means we're not

allowed to take strike action and we follow those rules.

But our members are under pressure, we're really feeling the pinch in this cost of living

crunch particularly when you look at the fuel pumps and now they're saying, well, we've

entered a new phase, because clearly it's a case of whoever can make the most noise

and create the most blockages will end up getting the deal.

But of course the government has pushed back very, very hard on this Rachel saying, look,

the 500 million euro package announced in the last few days was not just for contractors

and agricultural workers and hauliers, it was for everybody, it was for all workers

and they're keen to stress that when you look at whether it's the exercise duty cuts

at the pumps or whether it's the efforts that are made to reduce the cost of food production

there by reducing the cost of groceries on our shelves, this package was for everyone

and the benefits should be felt by everyone.

But certainly from the union perspective, they're saying that's not what our members

are feeling.

All of this as well, Rachel, it's worth noting coming at a crucial time.

We still have a public sector pay deal in this country, but it is due to expire in just

a couple of weeks.

It's going to expire at the end of June, so talks on a successor agreement due to get

place, take place in the coming weeks.

So certainly a timely intervention, I think, and a timely meeting today between the unions

and the government.

Brian, at Government Buildings, thank you.