Ibec withdraws from pay terms of national deal agreed in 2008

THE EMPLOYERS’ group Ibec has officially withdrawn from the pay terms of the national agreement reached with the Government and the social partners in September 2008.

In a letter yesterday, the organisation’s director general Danny McCoy told member companies that as a result they should prepare for local enterprise-level bargaining on pay in unionised workplaces.

Last month Ibec’s national council decided it would withdraw from the 2008 deal if no agreement could be reached with the trade union movement by mid-December on an alternative arrangement “that was appropriate for the economic and commercial environment of 2010”.

The employers’ group had previously said there should be no further pay rises for staff before 2011.

Mr McCoy said Ibec had been engaged in informal discussions with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions over recent weeks to seek to agree a suspension of the transitional agreement reached in September 2008.

“Not having agreed such a suspension with congress, Ibec is today giving effect to its decision to withdraw from participation in the pay terms of the Transitional Agreement, which are wholly unsuited to our economic circumstances.

“Given the unprecedented scale of job losses in 2009, and the prospect of further losses in 2010, it is clear that we need to restore competitiveness for economic recovery.”

Mr McCoy said Ibec remained committed to social dialogue at national level and a stable industrial relations environment in the private sector.

“Ibec is inviting congress to meet as soon as possible in January to agree measures for the orderly conduct of industrial relations in the private sector; a bilateral response to the economic crisis; and measures to preserve and create employment.”

Mr McCoy said a detailed set of guidelines for members had been prepared on the conduct of enterprise-level bargaining concerning pay and related matters in the private sector. “Following our engagement with congress in January, these guidelines will be finalised and issued.

“We will also brief the Government, the Labour Court and the Labour Relations Commission on the implications of our decision.

“We advise members to ensure that they continue to comply with any in-house collective agreements and locally-agreed dispute resolution procedures.”

Under the terms of the transitional agreement, workers were to receive increases of 6 per cent phased over 21 months. Some or all of the increases have been paid in more than 100 companies around the country. However, many more have imposed a pay freeze or cut wages.