Talks on national pay deal to begin soon

TALKS on a new national agreement will begin in earnest in the coming weeks after the Sustaining Progress agreement expires today.

Although SIPTU still has to hold a national delegate conference to formally agree to enter talks, it is expected no difficulty will be encountered, as the Irish Ferries dispute was resolved successfully this month.

Following the SIPTU decision, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) will also formally hold a conference to agree to enter talks.

However, despite the crisis at Irish Ferries, officials from unions, the business community and Government have established informal contact aimed at finalising an agenda for talks.

Negotiations should begin within a month.

While the main agenda will be concerned with pay and pensions, the Government will have to come forward with a substantial package to improve the protection of workers’ rights in the wake of the Irish Ferries and Gama scandals.

SIPTU president Jack O’Connor has threatened to remain outside partnership unless the union received Government commitments on how jobs displacement and labour discrimination will be tackled.

Already the Government’s top industrial relations trouble shooting body - the National Implementation Body - has outlined a framework under which a new deal could be agreed as part of its intervention in the Irish Ferries crisis.

This involves a commitment from the Government and business group IBEC to comprehensively address the issue of workers rights in social partnership talks.

SIPTU is seeking further clarification on how the Government believes such a goal might be achieved before it reenters talks.

Although, commitments along these lines have already been made in a letter from Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to ICTU general secretary David Begg, a more focused letter is likely as ICTU and SIPTU prepare to hold their conferences.

Private sector unions will seek local pay bargaining, room for productivity agreements and top-up pay claims for workers in companies with rising profits.

Over the past three years, pay rises under Sustaining Progress averaged out at just under 4.2% a year.