The campaign for the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF) has received a major setback. Delegates at a special conference of Mandate, the State's second-largest trade union, have unanimously rejected the deal.
They have not only urged their 37,000 members to vote against it, but to campaign for a `no' vote by low-paid workers in other unions such as SIPTU and IMPACT, which have recommended acceptance.
The big issue for the 260 delegates yesterday was low pay. The union represents shop workers and bar staff, many of whom can expect to receive a maximum increase of £32 a week under the PPF, compared with almost double that amount for people on average earned incomes.
The result will strengthen the hand of militants in the State's largest civil service union, the CPSU, whose executive is meeting today to consider its attitude to the PPF. The CPSU general secretary, Mr Blair Horan, is anxious to send out ballot papers without a recommendation but the decision rests with the executive.
Most of his members are also low-paid but, like teachers, they have been awarded an extra 3 per cent as "early settlers", which may make the deal more palatable.
Mandate has been volatile in the past, rejecting Partnership 2000 but supporting its predecessor. Used to taking each agreement on its merits, speakers at yesterday's conference were highly critical of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions for failing to achieve more for the low-paid.
Mandate's negotiators at the national talks were scathing on the overall trade union approach. The general secretary, Mr Owen Nulty, told delegates: "You never get everything you want, but it was quite clear early on there was lip service being paid on low pay. It wasn't a priority issue with some people who said it was when they went into the talks."
Mandate's national officer, Mr John Douglas, said: "The employers' attitude was to be expected, but we didn't expect to be let down by our own negotiators."
There were no speakers in favour of the PPF. Ms Rhonda Donaghy, of the Dublin distributive branch, said to loud applause: "We weren't looking for the Holy Grail, we were only looking for fairness. It might have been easier if we had been looking for the Holy Grail."
The failure of union negotiators to win a starting rate of £5 an hour in the new National Minimum Wage legislation, or to secure the right of shop stewards to represent members or attend training courses in working hours, also drew fire.
Even the promise of more tax cuts under the PPF cut little ice and many delegates expressed concern at rising inflation, especially the cost of accommodation. A major problem for Mandate members is that their agreements under Partnership 2000 do not expire until next January.
"We are being asked to stick with 1 per cent for the next 12 months when inflation is running at 4 per cent," Mr Pat Hardiman of Galway said.
Mr Douglas replied that Mandate had tried to have Partnership 2000 shortened and that as far as the union was concerned "all bets are off" regarding pay claims. Mr Nulty assured delegates that whatever happened in the context of national agreements, the union would continue to seek better pay at local level.
Increases of between 20 per cent and 40 per cent had been achieved over the past year in some major multiples. "We have sent the word out to other employers that `You are next on the list and, when we finish the list, we'll start all over again'. "
There has been a considerable groundswell of opposition to the PPF. However, support for the deal by unions such as SIPTU and the largest public service union, IMPACT, should secure majority support for it at the special delegate conference of the ICTU on March 23rd. Nevertheless, the militant mood abroad suggests that acceptance of the agreement may not avert a rash of disputes at local level to secure additional pay rises.
Amongst unions which have already adopted positions on the PPF is the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union, which has traditionally opposed national agreements. Its Irish secretary, Mr Mick O'Reilly, said yesterday the latest inflation figures made the increases proposed "worthless".
The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland did not enter the talks but withdrew from the ICTU.
Another major public service union, the Irish Nurses' Organisation, has decided not to endorse the deal because it believes it breaches commitments given to its members in the resolution of last year's nurses' strike, while the Building and Allied Trades Union has recommended rejection because the employers' body, the Construction Industry Federation, has refused to negotiate on the PPF at sector level. BATU believes that in the current building boom its members can do better in a free-for-all.