The employers’ group Ibec has said it is very concerned at the lack of action on the part of the Government to preserve and create employment and has warned that the jobs crisis is threatening Ireland’s social and economic fabric.
In a letter to the Taoiseach in advance of the resumption of talks this evening with the Government on an agreed economic recovery deal, Ibec said that while immediate and major cuts in public expenditure were necessary, the Government must also take decisive action to support employment and get the economy going.
It said the absence of such a move would prolong the crisis and add to long-term unemployment.
The Government, last week, invited trade unions and employers and other social partners to meet to discuss whether there was sufficient basis for entering substantive negotiations to secure an agreed national response to the current economic crisis.
Talks held earlier this year on such an agreement did not prove fruitful.
The general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, David Begg, said this morning he was not optimistic about the new process.
He said that while an invitation to talks with the Taoiseach was always important, against the background of recent economic commentary “one can’t be over-optimistic”.
“One has the sense that it’s all being choreographed for a particular purpose and its to prepare public opinion for an extremely harsh budget in early December," he told RTÉ Radio.
“Against that background I don’t personally entertain great expectations that we can have a significant leap forward.”
In its letter to the Taoiseach today Ibec’s director general Danny McCoy said that across Europe, governments had taken steps to protect jobs, in what was the most severe recession in recent times. He said the Government here must do the same.
“Ibec appreciates that short-term funding concerns pre-occupied Government policy on this issue in the early part of 2009 but believes that circumstances are now more amenable to a substantive jobs stimulus package. This could largely be achieved through better use of existing resources. By this we mean that Government could use the money it is already spending, largely through social welfare where this interacts with the labour market, to both protect those in vulnerable employment and to help support new employment”, he said.
He said recent Government initiatives such as the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund and Employment Subsidy Scheme had been welcome “but were completely under-resourced”.
“The eligibility criteria for these schemes must be broadened to include those many enterprises that have not previously received State agency support but are engaged in either export or sub-supply activity or are threatened by import substitution. In particular, measures introduced by the Irish Government to address the cost and competitiveness pressures endured by exporters to the Sterling area must be enhanced”, he said.
The Ibec leader also called for the urgent introduction of a Government-backed export credit insurance scheme.
Mr McCoy said there was also a potential to create new employment through a more ambitious public capital investment programme.
“A number of suggestions have already been provided to Government for non-exchequer financing mechanisms for this investment. Ibec believes that these should be fully explored in the context of a comprehensive economic recovery strategy. There are still significant deficits in essential infrastructure such as education, health and transport. These projects should be advanced as quickly as possible," he said.
He said business had a preference for tackling the jobs crisis through a partnership approach, but this had to focus on supporting employment, reducing costs and improving competitiveness.
Mr McCoy again repeated Ibec’s view that pay increases in 2010 were unrealistic and a formal suspension of the pay terms of last year’s national agreement was required as a matter of urgency. “If consensus cannot be reached, business will take its own decision on how best to proceed in the absence of an agreement", he said.
The talks today come in advance of the publication tomorrow by Ictu of the details of its campaign of opposition to the jobs crisis and Government hints of cuts in pay and services in the forthcoming Budget.
Ictu is to organise a day of protest on Friday, November 6th.