Unions expected to ratify social partnership deal

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is holding a special conference today in a bid to ratify the new social partnership deal.

All the member unions of ICTU will be voting to accept or reject the partnership agreement, Towards 2016, at the gathering in Jury’s Hotel in Dublin’s Ballsbridge.

ICTU General Secretary David Begg said that morning that the deal should be carried.

“I think we are reasonably confident,” he said. “It’s a dangerous thing to predict these things, of course you can be wrong but based on what we know of the declared results of the individual unions it looks to us as if the agreement is likely to be carried.”

The new deal would provide for a 10% pay rise for workers over 27 months. It includes a minimum wage increase to be applied from next January.

The deal would make way for new penalties of up to €250,000 and/or prison sentences for breaches of employment law.

Last week, Minister of State for Enterprise Tony Killeen urged unions to ratify the new deal.

Some of the state’s largest unions, including SIPTU with 200,000 members, IMPACT, the TEEU and INTO, the largest teachers’ union have already decided to vote in favour.

The Irish Nurses Organisation (INO), and Mandate, which represents 25,000 workers in the retail and bar trades, will not be attending the ICTU conference.

If the deal is ratified workers will receive their first pay increase provided for under the deal before Christmas.