As you will be aware, following the most intensive set of negotiations ever held under the heading of National Partnership Agreements, a new draft Agreement “Towards 2016” is being proposed  as a successor to the Sustaining Progress Agreement. The reasons for the protracted negotiations were as follows.

Steve Fitzpatrick, General Secretary

As we are in the middle of the main holiday period it has been decided to allow in excess of four weeks for the balloting process in order to ensure all members are in a position to vote.

I would ask you to study the document in its entirety before deciding which way you are going to vote.  The document is divided into two sections, Part I, which deals with the broad spectrum of social and economic policies and Part II, which deals with the pay elements of the agreement and the key area of employment rights.

Part I - Macro Economy, Infrastructure, Environment and Social Policy

This whole section of the document deals with the long-term ambitions of the Social Partners for all areas of the Irish economy and also deals with the areas that most affect our own families and communities, which form part of what is commonly known as “the social wage”.  It represents a major departure from other national agreements in that it accepts the reality that you can’t plan long-term objectives in the areas of social and economic policy through short-term national agreements.  It is now accepted that there is a necessity for long-term planning in crucial areas.  It is therefore proposed that this aspect of the Agreement will run for ten years.  Pay will be dealt with in the short-term (27 Months).

The proposed agreement attempts to tackle all of these key issues by placing individuals at the centre of policy development and by assessing and supporting their needs at key life stages.  There is a real attempt to assist in the development of “joined up government” by using all of the existing national strategies as the basis for this section of the agreement.  Those strategies include the new National Development Plan 2007-2013, the National Spatial Strategy, the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion and of course,  EU Legislation such as the Lisbon Agenda. 

The agreement covers all aspects of economic and social development with clear long-term goals with built in involvement of all social partners.  Most importantly there are real efforts to try to ensure delivery of the important goals in this part of the agreement with the setting up of quarterly reviews and annual meetings which will have the involvement of all the social partners.  The overall processes will be managed by a Joint Steering Group, with the involvement of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. 

This whole monitoring process is critical if these sections of the agreement are to be seen as anything more than lip service.  Progress in these areas will have a real beneficial effect on all our lives

Part II – Pay, the Workplace, Employment Rights and Compliance

This section of the agreement deals with Pay, Pay related issues, Partnership, Work Life Balance and Employment Rights.

The pay terms are due to be paid immediately on the expiry of the pay terms of the Sustaining Progress agreement and in the majority of cases will mean to our members-:

• 3% from 1st November 2006
• 2% from 1st May 2007
• 2.5% from 1st February 2008
• 2.5% from 1st August 2008
  Those pay terms cumulatively amount to slightly in excess of 10% for a period of 27 months. 

In general terms, procedures for resolving disputes in relation to those payments will not change, although it has been agreed that the Government will provide additional resources to the State’s Disputes Resolution and Conciliation Agencies in order to avoid unnecessary delays in those procedures.  There is also the introduction of an Anti Inflation Group, through which the Social Partners and the Government will attempt to impact positively on inflationary pressures.

Migrant Workers

The agreement also provides considerable comfort for migrant workers with, for example-

• Regulation of Employment Agencies and employment workers
• Changes to allow workers to apply for and own their own work permits
• Prohibition on workers working for less then the minimum wage
• Options for such workers to change or transfer employment
• Legal permission for workers, partners or spouses to work.

Public Service Pay

It is worth reading the conditions attached to Public Service Pay and Benchmarking which clearly show the onerous productivity requirements including modernisation and flexibility, team working, outsourcing, changes to attendance patterns, redeployment, open recruitment and merit based promotion.  I believe this section gives lie to the stories that public servants were receiving benchmarking for nothing.

Employment Rights
Because of the actions of unscrupulous employers, highlighted in the disputes with GAMA and Irish Ferries, which unfortunately were not exclusive to those companies, it was essential for Trade Unions to make employment rights, compliant and enforcement a key element of these discussions. To that end, there are a number of very welcome new initiatives.

• A new Director for Employment Rights will be established.
• A Joint Statutory Advisory Board will be established.
• There will be a trebling of Labour Inspectors from 31 to 90.
• Joint Investigation Units of the Department of Social Welfare and the Revenue Commissioners will be formed to investigate wrongdoing.
• Penalties will be increased for employers who transgress the law in these areas
• Improved redress for people who win cases under these headings.
• New legalised protection of complainants.
• Positive legislative changes in the Redundancy and Unfair Dismissals Acts.
• Public support for employment standards through changes in the manner in which public procurement is handled. These will include contractual conditions for compliance with employment standard laws with certification of compliance.

NEC Decision

A special meeting of the NEC was convened on July 4th solely to discuss the proposed new agreement. Following a long debate and presentation on the agreement, it was decided by the NEC to recommend its acceptance to you the members.
We have always recognised the fact that nobody ever gets their way 100% in negotiated agreements.  What is normally debated is whether enough has been achieved in any such agreement and what alternative we face if we reject that proposed agreement.  There is also the issue as to whether or not NEC members feel Social Partnership is a good or bad idea for the Irish Trade Union movement.  For my part, as a member of the Executive Council of the ICTU, I support this proposed agreement and in fact believe it to be one of the best national agreements ever negotiated.  I am by conviction a believer in Social Partnership as I personally do not know any other process that would give workers through their Trade Unions a seat at the table of Government along with other Social Partners and an opportunity to influence the way society is developing and the impact that development has on our members, their families and their communities.
Notwithstanding those views, there were obvious concerns raised and debated by the NEC, whose reasons for supporting the agreement can be encapsulated as follows.

Pay

The overwhelming view of the NEC was that the pay terms of the agreement, just in excess of 10% over two years and three months, were better than had been expected.  There was also a strongly held view that it was highly unlikely in any of the companies within which we have representation that we would have exceeded those pay terms without serious productivity measures.  There was concern expressed at the present rate of inflation but the overwhelming view was that the pay terms were sufficient to recommend to the members.
There was obvious concern expressed at the fact that there was still an “Inability to Pay” clause in the agreement and, given our experience at An Post, there was a fear that we might face a similar outcome again.  Following a long debate of this issue, the view emerged that Sustaining Progress, despite all its problems, still delivered 12.5% to all of our postal members and that nobody believed that 12.5% would have been achieved outside of the national wage agreement.  The view was also expressed that ultimately the processes laid down in Sustaining Progress had delivered the full percentage pay increases.  We are now at the stage where the outstanding issue from Sustaining Progress i.e. the arrears, will shortly be heard at the Labour Court. Given the recent miraculous financial recovery at An Post, I am absolutely confident that we will resolve the matter fully.  In those circumstances, the view was that in excess of 10% over two years was far more likely to be achieved through a national agreement in An Post than through an individual claim.

Social Wage

The NEC accepts that it is important for Trade Unions, on behalf of their members, to try and influence Government in the whole area of the social wage.  Within our communities we all recognise the need for good Health, Education, Transport and Security Services.  There is no doubt that those services are not at a level that is required by our society and, with the prevailing electoral trends, the only way working people can impact on those crucial services is through Social Partnership.  There was some level of criticism from the Executive at the lack of success of these elements in past national agreements, but ultimately, it was felt that the longer time scale attached to those areas, along with the new monitoring conditions, would make them more likely to be successful. 

Protection of Irish Labour Standards

There was recognition among the NEC of the excellent work done by the ICTU in this area and there was a reluctance to do anything that would water down those achievements.  There was a very strong view that those changes, particularly the legislative changes, were absolutely necessary to protect Irish workers and Irish working standards which had been developed at such a cost by Trade Unions throughout the history of this State.  There was no confidence that such protections and improvements could be garnered outside of Social Partnership and the necessity for those changes and improvements have been clearly demonstrated over the past twelve months.

Protection of Migrant Workers

The key changes to protect migrant workers as well as the regulation of agencies and agency workers, was also a consideration for the NEC in making its decision.  There is no doubt in anybody’s mind that the exploitation of immigrant workers was been used to undermine and attack the pay and conditions of Irish workers.  The victims in this cynical exploitation by employers were not only the migrant workers but also Irish workers who faced the deterioration in pay and conditions either as a result of the unfair competition created by the exploitation of migrant workers or by efforts by some employers to replace them with lower paid workers. The disputes in GAMA and Irish Ferries amply highlight these problems and in this case the Trade Union response through Social Partnership is critical.

Conclusion

Once again I would urge each and every one of you to study closely the “Towards 2016” draft Agreement.  It is a lengthy document that is worthy of your full consideration.  It is a testament to the access that the Trade Union movement in Ireland has to Government, through Social Partnership. An access that is much envied by the Trade Union movement across the world.  There are many good things in this agreement and there are many issues that are aspirational, but for once we will be in a position to try and ensure their delivery.  While the pay terms can always be better, I believe they are fair and I am absolutely convinced the changes in relation to Irish Labour standards as well as the protections for migrant workers would alone have been reason enough to vote for this Agreement.