More than 100,000 workers in the construction industry may not receive the 3 per cent compensatory payment negotiated under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness.
A spokesman for the Construction Industry Federation confirmed yesterday that Monday's "pay deal does not apply to the construction industry. The CIF position has been very clear throughout the discussions at Government Buildings. The industry completed its own review some months ago and agreement was reached on a new pay deal."
That review came into effect on October 1st. Under it, construction workers will receive increases worth up to 44 per cent during the lifetime of the PPF. The CIF director general, Mr Liam Kellaher, who attended the talks at Government Buildings over the past week, said yesterday the revised clause seven of the agreement contained "a specific reference which excludes certain employers and sectors in our circumstances, where pay costs have increased significantly above those in the PPF".
The director of social policy at the Irish Business and Employers' Confederation, Mr Brendan Butler, said companies which had paid employees more than the 5.5 per cent provided for in the first phase of the PPF "will not be expected to pay the extra 3 per cent and that was what was accepted by all the parties to the talks".
However, the assistant general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Mr Tom Wall, disputed this interpretation of the agreement. "Employers do have the right to raise issues like wage costs but only in the context of competitiveness and employment being at risk.
"We don't envisage many employments in the current economic climate where the claim of inability to pay can be made." Any claim by employers of inability to pay could be referred to the Labour Court for investigation.
The disputed text in the review of the PPF reads: "Clause seven provides a mechanism to recognise difficulties employers may have in meeting the pay terms of the PPF and enables employers to claim inability to pay. In the context of these stability enhancing measures, particular regard must be had for a number of circumstances where competitiveness and employment are at risk."