‘Full and frank’ talks offer little comfort to workers

“ITS going to be a fun winter” a senior trade unionist commented bitterly as he left the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ executive meeting yesterday.

He and his colleagues had just been briefed on the “full and frank” discussions on economic recovery which had taken place between a delegation from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and Taoiseach Brian Cowen. Ironically trade union leaders felt their two hours of discussions with Mr Cowen were among the most honest and unconstrained they had ever had with a senior government minister.

However, that offers little comfort given that the Taoiseach still conceded absolutely nothing to the trade union movement’s alternative economic recovery agenda. He has now made it abundantly clear on umpteen occasions that public servants’ pay is to be cut and social welfare payments severely curtailed in the December 9 budget. He has also discounted any move to generate revenue through taxation which would drive away the multinational companies employing a significant percentage of the dwindling working population.