A deal on Aer Rianta began to unravel at the pay talks but was later resolved. Chris Dooley, Industry and Employment Correspondent, explains the background.
Union leaders were somewhat surprised last week to read in The Irish Times that the Taoiseach believed Aer Rianta would be a big issue in the pay talks.
Arriving for the discussions at Government Buildings the following day, they said the issue had not arisen at any of the meetings on pay to date. Furthermore, it was said, 500,000 workers were depending on the outcome of a national pay deal, and the future of one company, though of major importance in itself, could not be allowed to get in the way of a deal.
Mr Ahern was correct, however. The Aer Rianta problem has hung like a black cloud over the talks and has doggedly refused to go away. Last night, it was initially "parked" as unions and employers finally began to discuss the issue of pay. At a 90-minute meeting with Government officials later, however, it was at last resolved - or at least union leaders dared to hope so.
The reason Aer Rianta got in the way of a potential deal is quite straightforward. Since last January, unions have had a commitment in writing from the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, that legislation to break up Aer Rianta would not be finalised until negotiations on the jobs and quality of employment of workers had been completed.
This, in turn, followed an earlier promise by the Taoiseach that the Government would "actively engage" with the social partners on the future of semi-State companies. The timing of this commitment, in February 2003, was particularly significant. It was given before union members voted on Sustaining Progress, which had just been negotiated.
Without this promise from Mr Ahern, union leaders believe they might not have secured union support for the new agreement.
As the Aer Rianta negotiations have not yet been completed, unions would view any decision to proceed with the legislation as a breach of the promises given by both Mr Brennan and Mr Ahern.
On Wednesday, as unions and employers attempted to focus on the issue of pay, word had reached the parties that Mr Brennan would be publishing the Aer Rianta legislation today.
That would have made it impossible for unions to conclude a deal on pay. "We could hardly finalise a deal with the Government in one area while it was breaching an agreement in another," said one union source.
Unions spent much of Wednesday trying to secure a guarantee that the Government would not renege on its commitments.
The real business began when the talks formally adjourned shortly after midnight. Senior union negotiators then had a meeting with Government representatives which lasted until the early hours of the morning.
They worked out the basis of an agreement, which would involve the Government publishing legislation enabling Cork and Shannon airports to be established as separate companies, but initially with no assets or staff.
The new boards' initial task would be to produce business plans, to be completed in about a year. If these were approved by the Government, further legislation would be introduced to complete the Aer Rianta break-up.
The initial legislation would also enshrine the commitments given to the unions concerning the job security and pay and conditions of workers.
When the parties returned to the talks yesterday, however, it was clear that the deal was in difficulty. A Government spokesman refused last night to comment on the belief within union circles that the agreement was blocked by the Tánaiste, Ms Harney.
With not just the pay deal, but social partnership itself under threat, the union leaders and Government representatives met again to clear up any misconceptions on either side. The way was then finally clear to focus on the central issue of the talks - pay rates for the next 18 months.