SIPTU agrees to national wage agreement talks

The country’s largest union, SIPTU, today agreed to enter talks on a new national wage agreement amid warnings that pay cannot chase inflation as the economy slows.

The union insisted it would be pushing for more money, as previous Government-sanctioned wage hikes have been eroded by the increasing cost of living.

But business federation IBEC warned Ireland is facing its biggest economic challenge in 20 years and that trying to match pay with inflation was a bad move.

In a hard-hitting attack on big business, SIPTU’s general secretary Joe O’Flynn blamed the banks and market traders for the slowing economy.

“The current economic difficulties are due to factors outside the control of ordinary working people, such as the irresponsible speculation of major financial institutions,” he said.

“It is neither morally nor socially acceptable that ordinary working people be accepted to pick up the tab.”

Mr O’Flynn said Siptu’s focus in the negotiations would be on better pay, pensions, trade union recognition and quality of life issues such as accessible and high quality health, affordable housing and childcare.

The 500 delegates at the special conference in Dublin also heard that equality of treatment for agency workers would be on the agenda.

SIPTU will be pushing for basic wage increases to cover inflation but delegates were warned talks would be tough and members should be prepared for the alternatives.

Congress will hold a special delegate conference on Thursday to debate whether to join the pay talks, which are expected to begin around Autumn.

Turlough O’Sullivan, IBEC Director General, said the negotiations should not be dominated by demands for money.

“It is not sustainable to suggest that pay should chase inflation. Inflation is a problem for all of us, consumers and business alike,” the Ibec chief said.

“No sensible person would suggest that the more difficult it becomes for Irish companies to do business, the more we should push up costs and further damage our ability to trade and to protect jobs.”

The economic downturn was highlighted in three sets of figures in the last fortnight which showed 200,000 people unemployed, inflation up to 5% and poor tax returns for the first three months of the year, 600 million euro below Taoiseach-designate Brian Cowen’s Budget forecast.

IBEC said pay rates have grown almost twice as fast as euro countries over the last 27 months. The federation added that Towards 2016 had guaranteed pay rises of 10.4% – with average wages €45,000 – compared to 6.6% across the euro area.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Mary Harney was snubbed by a separate meeting of SIPTU’s nursing council.

The union refused to invite the minister to address the conference after she said she was too busy to hold talks over the recruitment embargo in the Health Service Executive.

“It seems to me that if as much effort was put into listening to qualified professionals working on the frontline as there is put into spinning bad news stories, then phrases like national emergency might not be used about the Irish health service,” said SIPTU’s Louise O’Reilly.