AS UNIONS RETURN to negotiations on the Croke Park Agreement, the union representing nurses has said it will not accept proposals to cut Sunday premiums, which were tabled yesterday.

Phil Ní sheaghdha, Director of Industrial Relations at the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation told TheJournal.ie that the proposal was not a surprise.

“Employers always have had an iron table from day one,” she said. “We keep repeating; we will never agree. They have not moved on from trying to target frontline workers. We have advised them repeatedly, if they want an agreement, then they will have to move on from that position.”

At a rally yesterday evening of gardaí, firefighters, healthcare workers, paramedics and prison officers, 3,000 people gathered to discuss proposed cuts to their pay.

A letter sent by the alliance to the public expenditure minister Brendan Howlin, read to attendees, said front line workers “who provide services on a 24-hour day, 7-day week basis cannot endure further pay cuts, as they have no more to give”.

Explainer: What’s on the table in the Croke Park talks?>

Read: Croke Park talks on public sector pay and reform to continue>