Trade unions set to ratify pay deal

THE country’s trade unions are expected to ratify the latest social partnership agreement later today, clearing the way for pay increases of 10% over 27 months for more than 500,000 workers.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) special delegate conference takes place this morning to debate the Towards 2016 deal. Each union will be represented by a number of delegates who will vote in line with the outcome of their own ballots.

However, there will be a number of notable absentees from among ICTU’s 44 affiliates in the Republic.

Mandate, representing workers in the retail, licensed trade and office sectors, withdrew from the social partnership negotiations at an early stage.

And the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO), among the larger unions with 31,000 members, decided last week not to send delegates to the conference either. It will await the outcome of its campaign for a 35-hour week and other demands before voting.

Despite these two unions being absent and three more yesterday voting against acceptance, the deal is expected to be passed as at least 200 delegates are likely to represent the unions which have accepted it by ballot.

SIPTU, Impact, Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU), the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) and the Communications Workers Union (CWU) have all accepted the deal, bringing a combined “yes” vote of around 180 delegates.

The vote may be tighter than those for the last social partnership deal Sustaining Progress. But ICTU general secretary David Begg said last night: “We strongly believe that social partnership is the best model.”

The agreement reached by negotiating teams from ICTU, employers body IBEC, non-Government organisations and the country’s farmers followed more than four months of protracted talks. It also makes commitments to ease union concerns over pensions, minimum wage rates and abuses of foreign workers.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) has rejected the deal, with 82% of members who took part in a ballot counted yesterday voting against acceptance. They were following the union central executive’s recommendation to turn down the deal, although less than 15% of its 17,000 members voted.

The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) also announced rejection of the deal in its ballot yesterday, as did the Civil Public and Services Union (CPSU), both also in keeping with the recommendation of their respective executives.

These three results will add 60 more delegates to those voting against the deal — along with others such as the ATGWU, Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA) and the Building and Allied Trades Union (BATU) — but will probably not be enough to have it rejected.