CORI wants new arrangements for social partnership

Alternative procedures for negotiating social partnership arrangements, which would ensure "maximum benefits for the State and a fairer future for all" are to be presented to the Government and social partners by the Conference of Religious in Ireland.

CORI, itself a social partner, said the new arrangements were required to ensure social partnership "develops appropriately in an era of prosperity".

Decisions taken in negotiating previous social partnership agreements had resulted in specific proportions of the anticipated economic growth over the period of the agreement being allocated to areas such as pay increases, tax reductions, provision of social services and debt reduction.

But the allocations emerged from the strength of particular groups within the negotiations and were not agreed in advance as fair or reasonable proportions, CORI's Justice Commission said.

It suggested negotiations for a new agreement should start with discussions aimed at getting agreement in principle (based on what was considered fair and reasonable) on what proportions of the expected growth should go towards particular areas.

Those proportions would not be final, and different groups would be free to trade a part of their allocation to gain some of another.

To start, however, with discussions on what the proportionate allocations might be would, the commission said, be more likely to produce a fairer outcome which would ensure the stronger and better-off would not benefit disproportionately.

It would also ensure no parts of the agreement were treated as "residual categories" that would benefit only from what was left when the main issues were agreed.

The central economic forecast on which an agreement was based was crucial, the commission added. An "escalator" could be developed through which provision would be made for substantial variations in out-turn from that forecast.