SIPTU to discuss stance on new pay deal

Around 500 SIPTU delegates are meeting in Dublin today to decide whether the union should participate in talks on a new national pay deal.

As one of Ireland’s largest unions, SIPTU’s support is seen as necessary before the Irish Congress of Trade Unions could enter new pay talks.

Delegates at today’s meeting are expected to come to a decision by lunchtime, while an overall ICTU stance is expected to be revealed next Tuesday.

The prospect of a new pay agreement has come under doubt in recent months due to speculation about tax increases, rising prices and a growing suspicion that workers have fared badly under previous agreements.

Meanwhile, a group of delegates at today’s conference are attempting to table a special motion calling for an alternative to social partnership.

The motion urges delegates to recognise that employers have used the partnership process to increase their share of the wealth and that the end of the economic boom will lead to a renewed offensive against trade unions.

It also calls for nationwide meetings "to formulate a new strategy of resistance to pay restraint and cutbacks and strengthen the fighting spirit of the union".

Marnie Holbrow, a member of the SIPTU education branch, which is hoping to table the motion, said: "Workers have lost out under social partnership. The recent price increases indicate that social partnership can’t deliver even a decent living standards for ordinary workers."