Taoiseach Brian Cowen has again refused to concede to Siptu's demand for automatic collective bargaining rights for all workers which the union says it requires before it can fully endorse a Yes vote in the Lisbon Treaty.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen on the campaign trail in Athlone yesterday
On the campaign trail in Kerry this afternoon, Mr Cowen said the issue of collective bargaining could only be dealt with in the context of social partnership talks.
He was responding to an earlier Siptu statement in which union president Jack O’Connor said he could not recommend a Yes vote in Thursday’s referendum vote prior to Government guarantees on the issue.
Mr O'Connor said the vote was a critically important decision for the Irish people and for workers in Ireland.
“We would very much like to be able to recommend to our members that they should support the Treaty,” he said.
However, he said Siptu would do so only if the Government confirms “that entitlement to the benefits of collective bargaining (and the prohibition against discrimination for those seeking to avail of it), which is enshrined as a fundamental right in the Treaty, will actually apply to workers in Ireland.”
The Government has so far refused to concede Siptu’s demand, arguing that compelling employers to deal with unions would damage jobs and investment.
Sinn Féin’s Arthur Morgan said he was not surprised by Mr Cowan’s stance on Siptu’s request for legislation.
The Louth TD said: “It demonstrates once again that this Government is not serious about promoting and protecting workers rights”.
He said: “It also explodes the myth that the Lisbon Treaty provides any meaningful tools for protecting workers wages and conditions.”
Siptu's statement comes as Mr Cowen and the other main party leaders plan to intensify their efforts in the final days of the campaign to reverse the dramatic shift in support for the No side revealed in the latest Irish Times /TNSmrbi opinion poll.
Mr Cowen and the other party leaders will concentrate on increasing their public appearances and media interviews, party sources said.
Today Mr Cowen campaigned in Kerry and Limerick West on the Fianna Fáil Yes Bus today.
While Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore hosted a public information event on Grafton St in Dublin City centre at noon.
The leaders of the three main Dáil parties, Mr Cowen, Enda Kenny and Mr Gilmore, plan to make a joint appeal for a Yes vote on Monday. However, the Taoiseach plans to concentrate on his own campaign to turn the tide by polling day.
For the No side, Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams canvassed on Dublin’s Moore St this afternoon while Cóir held a “street” extravaganza today starting at the GPO on O’Connell St from noon. The Socialist Workers Party is also due to be campaigning for a No vote at the same place.