Unions welcome Govt proposals over talks

Unions today welcomed new Government proposals to restart the partnership talks.

The Government has circulated a letter in which it said that the exploitation of workers, a key union concern, will be the first issue to be addressed as part of multi-strand negotiations.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions said the letter would help to start the talks on a new national wage agreement.

“I think the letter represents progress,” said president Peter McClune.

He said ICTU had been in contact with the Government since last October, when the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union (SIPTU) announced that it would not be taking part in partnership talks until the issue of worker exploitation was addressed.

At the time, the union was involved in a bitter dispute with Irish Ferries over its plans to replace staff with low paid workers from eastern Europe.

“There was a clear lack of confidence among members that national agreements had the capacity to provide real protection for workers against a race to the bottom,” said Mr McClune.

SIPTU’s national executive is meeting today to discuss the Government’s proposals. It must convene a special delegate conference before it takes any decision to support ICTU’s participation in the national pay talks.

Mr McClune told RTE radio that unions were now hoping to meet the Government and employers next month to deal with the issues.

“What we’re talking about first of all is identifying and closing any loopholes that make exploitation attractive and profitable, as was the case in Irish Ferries.”

He said there was also a need for additional policies and legislative measures to maintain decent employment standards.

“We’re confident we can do this in a way that doesn’t undermine competitiveness.”