SIPTU PRESIDENT Jack O'Connor has sought to clarify the union's position on the Lisbon Treaty, saying he does not believe a better deal is possible.
"We certainly wouldn't want people to vote against the treaty on the basis that they think a better deal is possible," the president of the country's largest union said. "We don't believe that to be the case."
Mr O'Connor said political developments in Europe, including the recent election of Silvio Berlusconi as Italian prime minister, meant that the current climate was not conducive to securing a better deal for workers than that contained in the Lisbon Treaty.
He said there had been some confusion over Siptu's view of the treaty but denied there had been a softening in its stance in recent days. "We've never recommended a No vote or used the word No in relation to the treaty," he said.
Siptu decided at a meeting of its national executive council late last month that it would not support a call for a Yes vote unless the Government acted to bring forward legislation guaranteeing workers the right to be represented in talks with employers.
Article 28 of the Lisbon Treaty's Charter of Fundamental Rights recognises workers' rights to collective bargaining "in accordance with community law and national law and practices".
In its policy document on the Lisbon Treaty published last month, Siptu said it was not prepared to support a "watered-down" version which it said would "expose workers in Ireland to the free market aspects of the treaty while being denied the balancing protection of real collective bargaining".
At the weekend, Mr O'Connor described this week's referendum as a "critically important" decision and said the union would "very much like" to be able to recommend to its members that they support the treaty.
However, he warned it would do so only if the Government confirmed that "entitlement to the benefits of collective bargaining (and the prohibition against discrimination for those seeking to avail of it), which is enshrined as a fundamental right in the treaty, will actually apply to workers in Ireland".
He said this was one of the key provisions of the treaty and served to balance the interests of workers with those of business.
"It is an essential provision in a proper democratic society and it applies in one form or another already in virtually every other country in the EU," he added.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen has repeatedly said that the issue of collective bargaining can only be dealt with in the context of social partnership talks. Campaigning in Kerry at the weekend, Mr Cowen said he would do all he could to ensure the matter was dealt with satisfactorily.
Mr O'Connor said Siptu would recommend a Yes vote at this late stage "only if we were to get some positive indication from the Government" on the matter but admitted it was unlikely before referendum day.