National pay talks - Issue of local bargaining contentious

WITH the problems regarding displacement of workers by lower paid migrants practically disposed of, talks about a new national wage agreement finally commenced yesterday.

Whether the three-week time frame to conclude business between the social partners — Government, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) — is overly ambitious remains to be seen.

While yesterday was largely for laying out of stalls, there would appear to be a significant gap between the unions and employers on a number of issues, not least of which is the question of a price for a deal.