Formal Agenda Sample

Social partnership back on agenda for Coalition and unions

MARTIN WALL

ANALYSIS  : WHEN TAOISEACH Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore address the conference of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions this week, close attention will be paid to any hint of the extent of the relationship they envisage between the Government and the unions.

Since the Irish trade union movement last met in conference two years ago the world of industrial relations has been transformed.

The two decades-long era of social partnership collapsed in the face of public service pay cuts, while in many parts of the economy it has become increasingly common for unions and employers to reach deals which trade pay cuts and/or changes in conditions for job security.

In the first 100 days or so of the new Government, its messages have been mixed for the unions. On the one hand it has stuck with the Croke Park agreement on public service pay and reform, albeit with regular warnings that it has to deliver. However, it is also about to change wage-setting mechanisms for hundreds of thousands of workers which could put it on a collision course with some unions.

But while Fianna Fáil-led administrations over recent years cultivated a close relationship with the unions, where stands the new Government? The strong links between the Labour Party and the unions are well known. Although in opposition Gilmore stressed that a Labour government would not be a trade union government.

Fine Gael in opposition adopted a more sceptical stance on social partnership. It opposed the controversial benchmarking pay increases in the public service and called for a ban on strikes in essential services.

In a speech to the National Economic and Social Council last month Kenny referred to “social dialogue and civic engagement” having an important role.

He said that while “it may well be the case that formal social partnership agreements are not appropriate to the current circumstances and issues that we face”, unions and employers should have the opportunities to engage with the Government and each other.

Old-fashioned social partnership was by no means just about pay. It gave the unions and employers enormous influence over large areas of government policy, not just in relation to jobs and the economy.

However, while social partnership undoubtedly contributed to the recovery from recession in the 1980s and to a long period of industrial peace, it has recently become increasingly criticised in some quarters for having contributed to the overall economic collapse of recent years.

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