THE Government is claiming that new figures showing record job creation over the past three years supports its case for another national agreement. Talks on a successor to the Programme for Competitiveness and Work (PCW) begin today.
But there have been fresh warnings from trade unions that significant tax cuts must form part of any new deal.
The latest Labour Force Survey figures, published yesterday, show a 45,000 increase in employment in the year to last April. The Government now estimates that the numbers at work have increased by 130,000 over the three years of the PCW, more than the cumulative increase over the preceding 20 years.
The Government is arguing that the PCW, which ends this year, has been a major factor in fostering job creation by helping to maintain favourable macroeconomic conditions. In the talks which start at Dublin Castle this morning, it says it will aim to maintain a stable, moderate-wage and low-inflation environment to promote further job creation, a statement said.
However, a statement last night from Mr Jimmy Somers, vice-president of SIPTU, warned: There will be no new pay deal unless it includes agreed substantial tax breaks for the PAYE sector."
IBEC, the employers' organisation, has said new measures are needed to improve competitiveness. It, too, will also be looking for sizeable reductions in taxation and PRSI.
The 1996 Labour Force Survey shows that while employment rose strongly there was little change in the level of unemployment which fell by only 1,000 to 190,000. This factor will provide a major focus for the talks.
Last night, the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU) said those longest out of work were not benefiting from economic growth.
Preliminary survey results compiled by the Central Statistics Office show that the main growth is coming from the services sector, where employment rose by 47,000. There were 4,000 more jobs in industry but employment in agriculture fell by 6,000. In April, 1996, there were 1,284,000 people at work in the State compared with 1,239,000 a year earlier.
The figures show a significant rise in the number of women at work and in those working in the services sector. Women accounted for 33,000 of the 45,000 increase in the numbers at work, while the number of employed men increased by 12,000 to 796,000. The survey shows that women are moving away from work in the home and joining the labour force in increasing numbers. The number of women registered as unemployed increased by 4,000 to 52,000, while the number of unemployed men fell by 5,000 to 138,000.
Unemployment has fallen to 11.9 per cent from 15.6 per cent in 1993. But the INOU also expressed reservations about the quality of some of the jobs created in the private sector. Full details of jobs created will not be available until January when a breakdown will be available.