TEEU leader tells members to prepare if talks break down

The general secretary of the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union Mr Owen Wills has told his members that failure to agree on a successor to the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness "is now a more likely scenario" than was previously thought, but "the TEEU has the capacity to negotiate effectively on behalf of our members regardless of any agreement".

Speaking at the union's biennial conference in Galway yesterday, he pointed out that in some sectors where the union already enjoyed scope for local bargaining it had secured increases worth up to 58% on top of national agreements.