The Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance have made seven proposals on the proposed agreement.
1. Representation: the Government is prepared to propose amending legislation and developments in statutory codes to enhance the procedures by which unions can represent their members' interests.
2. Housing: In the context of the shared commitment to increase the supply of affordable housing, the Government is agreeable to a proposal to develop a new initiative with the social partners utilising the National Development Finance Agency.
3. Inflation: the Government is prepared to develop with the social partners a new anti-inflationary initiative targeting key sources of inflationary pressure.
4. Statutory redundancy: the Government is prepared to enhance statutory redundancy terms to provide for 2 weeks for each year of service, with the abolition of differentiation by age and retaining the existing bonus week in the calculation of payments.
5. Statutory minimum wage: the Government is prepared to increase the statutory minimum wage to €7 an hour from February 1st, 2004.
6. Pay terms: The recommendation is that the pay agreement should provide for an increase of 7 per cent over 18 months implemented in the private sector as follows: 3 per cent for nine months, 2 per cent for six months and 2 per cent for three months.
7. Public service pay: The same terms would apply in the public service, with an initial six-month pay pause, as follows: 3 per cent from January 1st, 2004; 2 per cent from July 1st, 2004, and 2 per cent from December 1st, 2004. In association with this increase and subject to final agreement on a modernisation programme for the public service, the benchmarking report awards would be implemented as follows: 25 per cent backdated to December 1st, 2001; 50 per cent from January 1st, 2004; 25 per cent from June 1st, 2005.