THURSDAY was a long day in Tralee. The Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Mr Dukes, was due down from Dublin to address the annual dinner of the Communications Workers Union.
Usually, it is an innocuous affair, but on this occasion the Minister and the general secretary of the CWU, Mr David Begg, had some bare-knuckled verbal exchanges before guests in the banquet hall of the Mount Brandon Hotel, where the union's annual conference was taking place.
At one stage, it looked as if the Minister might not come at all.
Earlier in the day he met the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, and the Democratic Left Minister of State, Mr Pat Rabbitte, to discuss the row with the unions about how large a shareholding workers should have in Telecom Eireann. Afterwards, a senior Government source denied there was any split. "Any issues outstanding have been resolved to everyone's understanding," he said. "The Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications knows the position of the three parties in Government and we are sure he will reflect them when he goes to Tralee."
However, the speech Mr Dukes gave when he finally arrived was very different from the one Mr Spring gave yesterday. Mr Dukes stressed that only 5 per cent was currently on the table and while he said he wanted talks early next week with the unions he was offering no hostages to fortune.
Mr Spring attacked those with secret agendas to privatise the company and made it clear where Labour stood on employee shares - although he did not spell out exactly how large a stake they should have, or how much they should be willing to pay for it.
Both ministers sounded more like politicians moving into election mode than members of the same Government addressing a major industrial relations problem. It could be that the Telecom Eireann Employee Share Option (Esop) scheme will be the ideologically defining moment for the Government parties as they head for the polls.
The timing could not be worse for the unions, or the company. Both have moved away from an acrimonious past industrial relations history towards partnership in recent times, but the new strategy hangs on a successful conclusion to the Esop deal.
Matters are further complicated by the fact that Mr Begg is leaving" the CWU to head up the charity, Concern, leaving a significant vacuum in Telecom's main union. Mr Begg's successor will have to be able to demonstrate his ability to defend members' interests before he can lead them into new territory with the skill and assurance Mr Begg has shown. This means that things could get worse on the industrial relations front before they bet better.
Labour and Democratic Left have a strong predilection to give the CWU and other Telecom unions their 14.9 per cent. Although both parties say they want to ensure a realistic price is paid by the employees for the share-holding, whether in cash or co-operation with new technology and restructuring.
The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, is also philosophically predisposed to employee share holdings. However, in his speech on Thursday, Mr Dukes gave no indication that he has taken social partnership on board.
It may be that he needs more time to shuffle his cards. However, time is fast running out for a concerted approach to the problem.
CWU members, as well as politicians, know there is an election coming. The mood in Tralee yesterday was that if industrial action is necessary to strengthen their hand, the workers feel they would be better 6ff taking it before polling day rather than after.