METRO Wednesday, November 25, 2009 D Ibec says action cost hundreds of millions THE cost of yesterdays strike ran into several hundred million euro, according to employers. The Irish business and employers confederation (Ibec) said, while there was an immediate salary cost of 60million, the cost of the secondary effects was much higher. According to Ibecs Brendan McGinty, the real cost to the economy is the wider reputational damage. There are two unmistakable facts: the action did absolutely nothing constructive for the people that are either on strike or the people they are disrupting. Plus we know that 1.3billion has to be taken out of the public sector pay bill by the Government, he said. The message has to be understood that this country can no longer afford the cost of the public sector as it stands, at a time when the economy is contracting this year by 7.5 per cent, and will contract again next year. MENU THE Home Digest 4 World Digest 10 Guilty Pleasures Celebrity gossip 12-13 MetroLife Arts and entertainment 16-17 60 Second Interview Actor Sam Trammell 18 TV 18-19 Puzzles & Letters 20-21 Classifieds 22-24 Sport 25-28 Help keep Dublin clean and tidy for everyone by taking your Metro with you and recycling it North cashes in on public strike Many public sector workers said they were taking advantage of the strike to stock up, while other shop- pers were families whose children were off school for the day. Union leaders said it was unfair to presume shoppers heading north were public servants. Impacts Peter McLoone maintained more than 250,000 people manned picket lines during the day, while emergency cover was being provided. There was no evidence public serv- ants off work spent the day queuing in Newry, he said. A far more serious concern is the volume of people spending in the North, Mr McLoone added. Tom Geraghty, of the Public Service Executive Union, said many parents with children off school had also taken the day off work. HORDES of shoppers surged across the border into Northern Ireland yes- terday as they used the national strike to stock up on Christmas shopping. The AA reported traffic tailbacks of up to 6km, stretching from Newry back to the M1, which it said was unu- sual for a normal Tuesday. Shops described the spike in busi- ness as similar to a busy weekend or bank holiday. Peter Murray, manager of the But- tercrane shopping centre, said it was like squeezing a quart into a pint pot as the city coped with the influx. We get more customers at the week- ends and when people are off and theres a fair few people off today obviously not all on the picket lines. Mr Murray estimated about half of the customers at Buttercrane during the day had travelled from south of the border, compared with 25 and 40 per cent during a normal weekday. By Brian hutton Queues: Sainsburys in newrys Quays Shopping Centre is thronged as people use the day to do some seasonal shopping Pictures: PA toDay: Windy with showers and sunny spells. Max: 10C toMorroW: a drier, brighter day with winds easing. Max: 9C METRO Weather Teachers angry with possible cutbacks MORE than 5,000 teachers angered by possible budget cuts staged a protest outside the Department of Education during yesterdays national strike. The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) claims the public sector walkout sent a clear message to Government that workers want meaningful talks on an equitable plan for economic recovery. Sheila Nunan, incoming general secretary of the primary teachers union, called on members to ignore attempts to divide and conquer workers. She told the crowd on Marlborough Street, in Dublins north inner city, that crude attempts to separate public and private sector workers would fail. Efforts to pitch the low paid against average-paid workers will equally fail, said Ms Nunan. The agenda of trying to set the unemployed against those with jobs is also doomed to failure. The INTO wants a fair solution to this crisis, one that protects employment, homes, services and salaries. The union maintained the action demonstrated unity by workers from all trade unions. angry: teachers demonstrated at the Department of Education tailbacks: traffic congestion on the M1 into newry as shoppers head north to stock up for Christmas Shoppers head North as schools shut down for the day index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html28.html29.html30.html31.html