Significant differences remain between unions and employers as they prepare to meet Government tomorrow in what may be a final effort to secure a national pay deal. Chris Dooley, Industry and Employment Correspondent, reports.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said yesterday he was worried about the extent of the gap between the sides and urged them to be "creative and flexible" in trying to bridge it.
There have been informal contacts between the parties and Government officials since talks were adjourned on Tuesday night, and further behind-the-scenes discussions take place today.
There was no sign last night, however, that the sides were any closer to settling differences on basic pay increases, the duration of any new agreement and union demands for a special deal for the low-paid.
After addressing the biennial conference of the public sector union Impact in Killarney, Mr Ahern warned that time was running out to secure agreement. Failure by the parties would end 19 years of unbroken social partnership. The intention has been that a two-or three-year pay deal would form part of an overall 10-year partnership agreement to succeed Sustaining Progress.
Mr Ahern said three areas were still to be addressed for an overall agreement: pay, employment standards and the social agenda. He was satisfied 90 per cent of the employment standards package had been completed, while progress had been made on social issues.
"The one that worries me more than anything else is pay," he said. While he did not wish to discuss figures, he was aware of the positions of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) and employers' body Ibec and there was "some considerable difficulty" in bringing them together.
Mr Ahern said it was not a case of them stating positions for the sake of it. "That's why I'm calling for some imaginative thinking. . . The two sides have to come together on this. They are not in that position now, so it's not a matter of meeting on Sunday and easily fixing this up."
Asked if this was the last opportunity for a deal, he said there might be "a few days" available, but the talks could not go on much longer. A ratification process had to take place if a deal was struck, he said, and this would have to be completed "before the summer".
Partnership talks should have begun last November, but were delayed initially because of the fall-out from the Irish Ferries crisis. They began in early February but a deadlock ensued over measures sought by Ictu to underpin employment standards and combat exploitation of workers. A package was finally agreed at the end of last month, including a trebling of labour inspectors to 90 and legislation to deter employers from making people redundant in order to replace them with cheaper labour.
This will only take effect if a pay deal can be agreed. While no figures have been formally tabled at the talks, unions are likely to hold out for an increase of at least 5 per cent in 2006. Ibec insists any rise must be in "low single figures".