Partnership set for overhaul as winter of discontent looms

Kyran Fitzgerald reports on the upcoming pay agreement talks

AS we enter the final furlong in the run-up to negotiations on a successor to the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, the mood is far from upbeat.

Around 10,000 people have taken part in a nationwide march organised by the trade union movement. Senior figures in the employers organisation, IBEC, warn that any new pay agreement must be markedly less generous than its predecessor, while privately, many employers question whether such an agreement is in their interest.