THE GOVERNMENT and trade unions last night said talks yesterday on a new social partnership deal including a major new initiative to protect and create jobs had been “positive”.
However, the leader of one of the country’s largest trade unions, Unite, said it had lost all confidence in the current process.
Speaking at the launch of his union’s proposals for a €21 billion economic stimulus plan, Jimmy Kelly forecast that all unions would walk away from the process shortly, as he did not think the Government would be able to deliver what they were seeking.
He said if the Government delivered on pay and pension protections it would be “well and good”, but added:“We will not be taking part in never-ending talks that are going nowhere.”
However, other union leaders last night said discussions with Government officials – which centred on the jobs initiative as well as on pension protection measures and support for people with mortgage arrears – had been constructive.
One highly placed union source said the Government now appeared to accept in principle that the scale of the new initiative on employment had to match the size of the current problem.
The senior union figure said there had been no disagreement from the Government side regarding its proposal – which is broadly backed by employers’ group Ibec – that the scale of the State investment should be about €1 billion.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen, in a letter to union leaders last month, indicated that money which would otherwise have been spent on social welfare payments could be used to fund the jobs initiative.
It is understood that the talks considered how the new scheme could operate, and how it could target jobs which were “viable but vulnerable”, while at the same time avoiding becoming a dead weight and propping up unsustainable employment.
One highly-placed source said that it could be tested in the food sector, which employs up to 140,000 people, but is facing difficulties as a result of lower sterling values.
The Government side is expected to draw up proposals on how the new initiative could be constructed over the coming days.
A Government spokesman said last night that the talks with the unions had been “constructive and would continue”.
Union leaders do not believe the Government will set out its final position on the jobs initiative – including the scale of investment involved – until it determines whether a deal can be reached with the unions on public sector reform, which it sees as a key element of any overall agreement on national recovery.
Talks on the various strands of an agreement are likely to intensify over the coming week or so in advance of a meeting of the executive committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on June 24th, which is seen by many union leaders as a deadline.
Unite said its proposed multi -billion euro economic stimulus plan was aimed at creating and saving more than 100,000 jobs. “The key to Ireland emerging from the recession is to tackle unemployment. This is the single standout cause of reduced tax revenue and increased social welfare expenditure,” Mr Kelly said.
Unite propose to fund the new stimulus package through increased Government borrowing, new taxes in some areas and the creation of new economic recovery bonds.
