Cowen: One week to reach pay deal
Intensive negotiations will begin on Monday following two hours of preliminary talks at Government Buildings yesterday.
Mr Cowen said employers and unions had agreed on the need to end the climate of “drift” and he wanted a settlement reached within seven days.
Mr Cowen pointedly referred to how the economy had worsened since the collapse of the last round of talks in early August.
“I think all sides are agreed on the need to avoid drift and uncertainty as to whether an agreement is possible,” Mr Cowen said.
IBEC director general Turlough O’Sullivan stuck to his demands for a “pay pause” for at least one year in the public sector and six months in the private realm, followed by a rise in “low single digits”.
IBEC also rejected union calls for the lowest paid to receive a pay boost. However, Mr O’Sullivan indicated employers were willing to make sacrifices to secure a deal.
“Everyone has to share the pain, no exceptions,” he said.
Mr O’Sullivan claimed some senior executives’ pay had been badly hit by the slide in the profitability of their companies in the past year and were already feeling the effects of downturn.
Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) general secretary David Begg said he remained positive, but was scornful of IBEC ‘s willingness to share the pain.
“I see squadrons of pigs flying by,” he said, stating that IBEC members had awarded themselves increases of 30% last year and the prospect of them giving up financial benefits to help the lower paid was “remote”.
The August pay talks ran into the ground after the Taoiseach judged the gap between both sides to be too great to close. IBEC offered a 5% increase over 21 months, involving a six-month pay freeze for many private sector workers, an 11-month pay pause for public sector staff, and the construction industry taking a 12-month freeze.
The economic outlook has worsened in the past month with unemployment hitting a 10-year high, the fourth successive record rise in a row, and the Government conceding the year-end Exchequer deficit will be at least €5 billion.
