Fine Gael Ministers concerned over prospect of pay talks

A private meeting of Fine Gael Ministers this week heard concerns expressed about the emerging prospect of new talks with the social partners on issues such as pay and tax.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton raised concerns about the possible emergence of "social dialogue" at the weekly pre-Cabinet meeting of Fine Gael Ministers on Tuesday.

Sources said Mr Bruton, who opposed benchmarking and social partnership when Fine Gael was in opposition, expressed concerns about the approach emerging in Government.

He is said to have outlined worries that any progress made on competitiveness in recent years could be undone, a view supported by other Fine Gael Ministers.

It is also understood the Department of the Taoiseach is less enthusiastic about the idea of new talks than Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin.

Scepticism

One well-placed Coalition source said it was not as simple to say the two finance Ministers were leading the Department of the Taoiseach along on the idea of “social dialogue”, but acknowledged the “main scepticism about it is in Taoiseach’s [department]”.

Other senior sources downplayed the scope of any such process and said the forthcoming spring statement on the economy would see the Coalition outline the economic parameters for the year ahead.

Interested groups will be invited to make submissions between the spring statement and the October budget, including an involvement with the Oireachtas, but not much more than that.

"We will only be talking to the public sector," said one source, while others claimed Labour was the main driving force behind the idea.

No firm proposals have emerged about what shape “social dialogue” would take, but sources across Government strongly ruled out a full- blown return to social partnership which involved government, unions, employers and other groups negotiating overarching deals encompassing virtually all aspects of economic and social policy.

The Government is already committed to holding talks with public service trade unions on rolling back financial emergency legislation that has been put in place over recent years to allow for pay cuts and pension changes.

Mr Howlin said the issue of pay may be included in the spring statement, which will take place in April.

Mr Noonan said trade unions, employers’ groups and civil society organisations may be consulted in any new process, and raised the “possibility of some kind of quasi- negotiation where pay and tax relief could be in the one package, and whether there could be a quid pro quo between one and the other, and there would be a new partnership arrangement which would secure the recovery and at the same time give some benefits back to the people”.

While this position is seemingly at odds with that of others in Fine Gael, such as Mr Bruton, some in the senior Coalition partner suggest he is trying to influence a Labour policy.

“Noonan probably sees Labour are pushing this and is trying to put a blue hue on it,” said one source.