THE vice president of SIPTU, Mr Jimmy Somers, has warned that his members may reject Partnership 2000. After a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of labour leader Jim Larkin, Mr Somers said the result of the SIPTU vote looked "very, very close".
Mr Somers's comments will add to the growing concern in Government circles that Partnership 2000 could be rejected. If this happens its economic and budgetary strategy will be left hanging in the air.
With 70 of the 350 votes to be cast at the special delegate conference of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions next Thursday, it is expected that the SIPTU vote will have a decisive impact on the outcome. The result of the ballot will be known late tomorrow or early on Wednesday.
The SIPTU leadership has been one of those most committed to social partnership within the trade union movement and if the 200,000 members vote to reject Partnership 2000 tomorrow it will be the first time they will have voted against the recommendation of their own executive.
Mr Somers said yesterday he expected the result of the SIPTU ballot to be close. It was "very hard to know what specific issues are motivating members", he added and resistance to the deal was not confined to any particular sector.
His comments were made after he gave a graveside oration at Glasnevin cemetery in Dublin to mark the 50th anniversary of Larkin's death. In his oration, Mr Somers said it was because Larkin had helped create "a fighting trade union movement" that its leaders could now take their place at the bargaining table with employers and Government, "if not as an equal partner, then certainly as a respected adversary".
"Whether we remain part of the current social partnership process will not become clear until later this week. I know that many of our members, despite being well disposed to the concept of bargaining on the broad agenda, have serious doubts about the credibility of the other parties to the process - the Government and the employers.
"I do not intend to pre empt the outcome of the ballot in SIPTU, or indeed of the vote at the ICTU special conference on Thursday. But I will say that whatever situation we find ourselves in - either social partnership or a return to local bargaining - the resources of this union will be dedicated to the ongoing task of advancing the overall, living standards, working conditions and quality of life bf our members and of working people generally."
This was a reference to SIPTU's strategic development initiative under which it is involving up to 7,000 shop stewards in a campaign to develop a "partnership" approach to industrial relations on the ground, whether there is a national agreement or not.
Last Friday the union also organised the first joint national workshop for its officials and senior personnel managers from large companies with which it negotiates.
A worrying feature of the present situation is that unions representing teachers, nurses and low paid civil servants, more than half the employees in the public service, are expected to vote against Partnership 2000. Usually they support national agreements.
However one welcome surprise result for the Government was the Yes vote by members of Manufacturing, Science, Finance (MSF) last week. These traditionally vote against national agreements.