The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, gave a commitment in the House to another group of essential workers, the water workers, that there would be a referendum on the control and ownership of water and on keeping it in public hands and that there would be a guarantee made over their jobs and conditions, in particular their rostered overtime and extra allowances. They have never, ever received that in writing from the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, or the county and city management association, CCMA, who are their employers. Who is running the show here? What is driving hundreds of workers across 12 local authorities to take strike action today and tomorrow and to have local authorities issue boil-water notices to thousands of households? The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien's, commitment to the workers needs to be translated into actual meaningful commitments by the employers of water workers across the country. We need to see commitments on their terms, conditions and pay and a commitment to a date for a referendum on keeping water in public control.

The Minister is very committed to this. Under the framework that has been agreed, there are a number of attractive options for water services workers including full protection of terms and conditions for those who choose to remain in their local authority. For workers in particular, it sets out the options that will become available generally and empowers each worker to decide voluntarily on the option which is best suited to their own individual needs. Other unions have taken a different approach to Unite the Union on this. Recent commitments given by the Minister to water services workers on protection of earnings and allowances, in our view, should provide adequate reassurance to Unite members that they will benefit from the multiple options available to them under the framework. We do not believe there is a need for this industrial action at all.

If it guaranteed, why is the employer not engaging with the union?