The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has set a deadline of Budget day, December 6th, to conclude negotiations with the Government and employers on pay. After yesterday's meeting of the ICTU executive, the general secretary, Mr Peter Cassells, said: "If there isn't compensation from employers for inflation it will not be possible for congress and affiliated unions to continue supporting the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness."

The motion to re-enter talks was supported by all those present except the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union. Its Irish secretary, Mr Mick O'Reilly, asked that his vote against be recorded. He was unable to move his own motion calling for withdrawal from the PPF because there was no seconder. Even unions sceptical about the outcome of the talks wanted to exhaust all the options first.

The motion from the general purposes committee that was passed called for a report back to the ICTU executive on the next phase of the negotiations, which are to begin tomorrow. The negotiators were charged with "ensuring that the full value of the improvement in living standards provided for in the PPF is implemented".

On pay the ICTU negotiators were mandated to "make it clear" in the new round of talks that "it will not be sufficient for the Government alone to provide compensation in the Budget on December 6th. Employers must also agree to provide compensation, otherwise ICTU and its affiliated unions will no longer support the pay agreement in the PPF".

The ICTU negotiators were to tell employer representatives that while the latter might not concede "the need for compensation" they would have to "accept that this is unavoidable" if social partnership was to survive. Consequently the employers would have to agree "a pay-related element to the package".

After the meeting Mr O'Reilly continued to insist that a special delegate conference of ICTU was needed to decide the fate of the PPF, rather than "a clique of establishment figures". Even if new proposals emerged from the new round of talks a conference was needed to "legitimise" the process.

SIPTU president Mr Des Geraghty said there was "very, very solid support" at the meeting to continue what were "difficult and delicate negotiations. A special delegate conference is not the issue at the moment. The focus is on wresting the full value of the increases given our members in the PPF from these talks."