With Siptu, the biggest union in the country, currently in the process of balloting its 200,000 members on the terms of the latest national partnership agreement, Towards 2016, Sinn Féin has called on trade unionists to vote no to its terms.
The agreement, which proposes a 10 per cent pay increase over the next 27 months, has already been accepted by the Irish National Teachers Organisation but rejected by the Irish Bank Officials Association.
The national executive of Siptu has recommended acceptance of the agreement and ballot papers have been sent to union members. They have to be returned by the end of next week.
Siptu's decision will be critical to the success or failure of the deal as the union will send close to 35 per cent of the delegations to a special conference of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on September 5th which will decide its fate.
The Sinn Féin spokesman on worker's rights, Arthur Morgan, yesterday called on workers to reject the agreement, following a decision by the party's ardchomhairle to call on its members and supporters to vote no in their respective unions.
"The decision on Towards 2016 rests with the membership of the trade union movement, but it is one that will shape the economy and society of this State and all of its citizens for the next 10 years. Consequently, Sinn Féin believes it is necessary to place our views on the record in a manner that is both forthright, but also respectful of the independence of the trade union movement to make this decision.
"As a result of our analysis, we are therefore calling on all union members, but in particular, Sinn Féin members and supporters, to vote no to Towards 2016," he said.
Mr Morgan maintained that the deal was a spectacular failure for the low-paid workers and that the pay increases of 10 per cent over 27 months would barely keep pace with inflation currently running at 3.9 per cent. "With house prices increasing at double-figure rates and ESB and gas prices in the offing, the proposed increases will be largely wiped out by inflation," he said.
He said the deal opened up the public sector to outsourcing, with unions only having a right of notification. "This will undermine the terms and conditions of public sector workers and could see them being replaced with non-union labour." Mr Morgan also objected to the fact that while employers retained their ability to claim an inability to pay increases, union negotiators did not obtain an "ability to pay" clause as there was no local bargaining clause which would allow unions to negotiate with prosperous companies.