TEEU backs new national partnership agreement

Members of the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the new national partnership agreement, making its formal ratification next month almost certain. The TEEU vote in favour was 82 per cent.

This follows last week's endorsement of the agreement by Siptu, the State's largest union with 200,000 members.

Impact, which represents 56,000 mainly public sector workers, and INTO, the largest teachers' union representing 27,000 primary school teachers, are also supporting the agreement.

The new partnership deal, Towards 2016, which includes a 10 per cent pay rise for workers over 27 months, must be formally ratified by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) before it can be implemented. Unions who are constituent members of Ictu will vote at a special delegate conference on September 5th.

The Siptu, Impact, INTO and TEEU endorsement, along with a number of smaller unions which have signalled their support, means that upwards of 40 per cent of the vote is already in favour of the agreement.

Its ratification is made even more likely by the absence of Mandate, which has said it will not be attending the conference and intends to remain outside the agreement to pursue local bargaining with employers. Mandate, which represents 25,000 workers in the retail and bar trades, is one of the largest unions opposed to the agreement.

While the TEEU leadership recommended a yes vote to members, it has expressed reservations that the agreement contains no provision for local bargaining and has accused the Government and employers of an unwillingness to implement its social and employment rights provisions.

"I can say, without fear of contradiction, that securing the commitments to strengthen employment rights and standards was by far the toughest part of the negotiations. I believe this Government and the employers are still reluctant to honour in full the measures in Towards 2016," said TEEU general secretary Owen Wills.