Gain-sharing schemes crucial to new national wage agreement

GOVERNMENT and employer attitudes to gain-sharing schemes for workers will be crucial to delivering a new national wage agreement, according to the leader of the country's largest union.

SIPTU general secretary John McDonnell said the Government and employers had a deplorable record in backing schemes which allow employees benefit from financial progress of their firms. He said an EU report shows that only 30% of Irish workers have a profit-sharing scheme and an abysmal 6% benefit from the more broadly based gain-sharing schemes.

Writing in today's Irish Examiner, Mr McDonnell urges the Government and the employer organisation IBEC to support the introduction of gain-share schemes. He said the report provided evidence of the potential benefits for workers and bosses from such schemes.

The SIPTU leader said the broader concept of gain-share needed to be adopted because classic profit-sharing schemes excluded the country's quarter of a million public sector workers. It also excluded non-profit making organisations and firms that were struggling to get out of the red: "The idea of gain-sharing allows workers to participate in achieving goals which improve the financial health of the place where they work. They can apply to things such as staying within budget or achieving economies or speeding up the work process."

He added that such schemes are proven in improving workers' attitudes to the job.

They are also good for the economy as their link to productivity means they do not fuel inflation: "These schemes are applied to top employees in key sectors such as the information technology area. The Government has been slow to facilitate general schemes with tax breaks and the employers' organisation, IBEC, have not played their part in promoting the idea."

The SIPTU leader said the EU Commission document, A Framework for the Promotion of Employee Financial Participation, offered food for thought for everyone approaching new negotiations on a national wage agreement. The current agreement, the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, begins to run out at the end of this year and the middle of 2003.

Unions are currently consulting their members and a series of important meetings are scheduled for next month.