THE Irish Small and Medium Enterprises association has told the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, that it will not participate in the talks. The association "cannot sanction a negotiating process that specifically excludes ISME from the core deliberations on pay", its chief executive, Mr Frank Mulcahy, says.
Wages accounted for 30 to 40 per cent of turnover, as against less than 10 per cent, in many large capital intensive industries. It was vital that ISME members be represented at pay talks.
Mr Mulcahy also said the decision to include ISME as the penultimate contributor to yesterday's framework discussions on a new agreement "was a deliberate and calculated insult".