Partnership critics say ICTU is out of touch with workers

A group of disaffected trade unionists has launched a campaign to oppose the new social partnership deal.

A group of disaffected trade unionists have launched a campaign to oppose the new social partnership deal.

The group includes officials and shop stewards from SIPTU and other unions whose leaderships support the Towards 2016 agreement.

They say the deal is bad for workers and will not even cover the rising the cost of living in the coming years.

They also say it fails to deal adequately with issues like pensions and outsourcing and have accused the ICTU leadership, which negotiated the agreement, of being out of touch with ordinary employees.

Spokesman Kieran Allen also said the union movement was not even informing workers about the full extent of the deal before they cast their ballots it.