Government and employers ‘endangering partnership’

THE Government and employers are failing to abide by the terms of the last national agreement, putting the entire partnership process in jeopardy, incoming SIPTU general president Jack O’Connor said yesterday.

In his keynote speech to the conference, Mr O'Connor said the trade union movement could only continue to support the Sustaining Progress agreement if it was also honoured by the other partners.

"On balance, it would be better for our members and for our country overall to support the agreement, but only if it is honoured in full by all the members of the Government not just some of them and by the employers all the time not just when it suits," he said.