Public service big winners in wage pacts

National wage deals have been something of a mixed blessing, says BRIAN O’MAHONY.

NATIONAL pay deals have been central to the economic success of Ireland, supporters argue. But the point often missed is that what the pay agreements achieved was the replacement of industrial strife with industrially harmony.

As one fan put it, for the first time, labour and capital in Ireland agreed terms that facilitated business growth and allowed wage deals to be struck.