SIPTU leaders cancel vote on partnership talks

SIPTU leaders at the union’s biennial conference in Cork last night cancelled a crucial vote on whether to enter negotiations on a new social partnership deal, and are now set to make participation in talks conditional on Government guarantees on job displacement and employment rights.

In a meeting of the union's National Executive Council yesterday, SIPTU's leadership decided to withdraw a motion in favour of entering partnership talks, and instead ask delegates to sanction an emergency motion demanding that progress on employment rights be guaranteed before talks begin.

The new motion, which looks likely to be passed tomorrow, is designed to ease pressure within SIPTU on the issue of entering a new partnership deal and in turn put additional pressure on the Government.