National pay talks - New accord can secure our economy

WORKERS and businesses who relied on national agreements to regulate pay have been, by and large, well served by the process and we are about to discover if that positive trend can be sustained.

Yesterday’s vote by SIPTU delegates to enter talks on a new agreement suggests that it might.

No one, it seems, has a formula that will satisfy business and unions. Unions argue that under the current 27-month deal workers did not enjoy any real increases.