THE Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, is seeking a meeting with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to discuss policy differences over proposed new EU company and labour law.
Mr Bruton is understood to have spoken to the general secretary of the ICTU, Mr Peter Cassells, by phone yesterday to defuse a potential confrontation after details of a letter from Mr Cassells to Mr Bruton were published in The Irish Times.
In the letter, Mr Cassells said Congress was dismayed to be informed by the European Commission at a recent meeting that the Minister was blocking the adoption of a European company statute to give employees more consultation in the workplace.
Speaking to journalists later, Mr Bruton said "there was no such meeting". He said he had indicated to Mr Jacques Santer the President of the European Commission and the Social Affairs Commissioner, Mr Padraig Flynn that he intended "to move the legislation along" during the Irish presidency.
He added: "Traditional Irish opposition to the statute might after. I have never flagged an Irish opposition. I have never attended such a council meeting and I've never indicated to any commissioner opposition to this measure."
He would be "looking afresh" at the Irish position. Mr Bruton said that he had always encouraged consultation and a greater exchange of information in the workplace. But he added, "I think we have to carry people with us on this."
The people Mr Bruton meant became clear later, when the employers' organisation, IBFC, issued a statement saying it supported the voluntary approach to employee communication and information. Attempts to introduce new rules "would have an extremely negative effect on foreign direct investment in Ireland and therefore on employment". The proposals should not get bogged down on information and consultation rights for employees.
Meanwhile the Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Ms Eithne Fitzgerald, said after a meeting of Social Affairs Ministers yesterday that she hoped the problems that had blocked the European company statute would be resolved during the Irish presidency.
The Commissioner for Social Affairs, Mr Flynn, said a number of countries had problems with the information and consultation elements of the package. Like Germany and Britain, Ireland was "part of the blockage. But at no stage did the Irish Government say to me that they were refusing to discuss the matter or that they were going to slow down the discussions. I have taken the initiative of taking a series of meeting with countries blocking these proposals and that includes Irish ministers."
Mr Cassells said yesterday that he did not wish to get into an argument about the circumstances in which Irish objections to a greater say for employees arose, but the information he received is accurate in terms of Government thinking. If the Minister is now saying that he is supporting the right of Irish workers to be informed about their jobs. I would be happy with that.
However, he warned the Government and employers that social partnership is at a stage in Ireland where it must be developed further for it will wither and die".
The Fianna Fail spokesman on Labour Affairs, Mr Tom Kitt, said that Mr Bruton was sending out "a confused signal to our EU colleagues and to our social partners at the beginning of the Irish presidency". The result could be "disastrous" for social partnership.