Union leaders are expected to refrain from recommending or rejecting the proposed national partnership deal at a meeting in Dublin today. Instead, the executive council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is likely to put the deal to a national ballot of members without a recommendation.
The deal, agreed on Monday following the intervention of the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and senior Cabinet colleagues, is causing difficulty for unions in the private sector. A minority of public sector unions are also unhappy with the timetable for payment of increases due under benchmarking.
At today's meeting, the ICTU council could decide to recommend rejection or approval of the deal. However, several council members, representing different views on the deal, said the most likely outcome was a decision to put it to a ballot without a recommendation. The most recent partnership agreement, the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, was passed without a recommendation.
One of the country's biggest unions, the ATGWU, yesterday came out against the deal, which proposes a 7 per cent pay increase in phases over 18 months. It described the proposed deal as "woefully inadequate".
Other private sector unions expressed serious doubts. Mr John Tierney, the general secretary of AMICUS, said clarification was needed on provisions committing unions to binding arbitration on matters of disagreement.
Some union officials believe this will restrict their ability to take action, even in cases where employers abuse the "inability to pay" provisions.
IBEC, the employers' body, will also begin formal consideration of the proposed deal today when its negotiating team meets in Dublin. The proposals will be considered by its executive council next Wednesday.
Mark Hennessey in Mexico City adds: The new social partnership proposals will not threaten Ireland's competitiveness, as long as action is taken to curb inflation, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said last night.
He expressed hope that both the trade unions and employers will back the new proposals. On European Commission warnings about Irish price rises, Mr Ahern said: "I think a 7 per cent deal is not an unreasonable deal where inflation is running in excess of 5 per cent."
