SIPTU calls for a PPF review in advance of data

To no one's great surprise, the unions are calling for a review of the terms of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. Equally, it was accepted that the new head of IBEC Turlough O'Sullivan would take a hard line on the pay issue following his appointment this week.

What may be more surprising is how fast this has all happened. The agreement, after all, is not yet in force for six months. It also appears clear that all parties, having invested so much in securing its passage, have been hoping against hope that a review would not be necessary at this time.

Of course, it has been SIPTU's insistence on a review that has put the issue firmly on the agenda, an indication of the power the union wields among the social partners and of the pressure it is under from its membership. Des Geraghty has sensibly made his call in advance of next week's inflation data to avoid his action being seen as a knee-jerk reaction to what will be - by general consensus - some pretty depressing figures.

The catalyst for the review call has been the timidity of the Government's response to rising inflation. Its package of measures is seen as superficial at best. To some degree, this is no surprise. The Government, and indeed any alternative, has ever fewer instruments with which to control the economy as we become part of the EMU.

Where the fault really lies is with the last expansionary Budget of Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy at a time when all and sundry agreed such an approach was the last thing the economy needed. Hoodwinked by inflation which had yet to show its head and a determination to follow his own lights, the Minister must shoulder a heavy portion of blame for the current review.