"If Partnership 2000 is in crisis, it is because the Government has spent the past year refusing to face up to its responsibilities," according to SIPTU's president, Mr Jim my Somers. What was lacking, he said yesterday, was a commitment to fighting social exclusion.
The last Budget met the commitments of Partnership 2000 in the letter rather than the spirit. It was a Budget for "the greedy at the expense of the needy". It fuel led inflation and the Government also failed to meet commitments in areas like union recognition.
Mr Somers will be one of five trade union leaders at the plenary session at Dublin Castle this morning. The others are the general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Mr Peter Cassells; the general secretary of Impact, Mr Peter McLoone; ICTU's deputy general secretary Ms Patricia O'Donovan and INTO general secretary Mr Joe O'Toole, who re-ignited the row over public service pay with his remarks on teachers' pay last week.
Mr Somers was reflecting the frustration of unions with Partnership 2000. He also raised misgivings over the so-called "third strand" to the agreement - that concerning the voluntary and community sectors.
SIPTU's decision to address the wider agenda reflects the high proportion of members it has among the low-paid and casualised sectors of the workforce - people between permanent employment, the dole and various social initiatives like Community Employment Schemes.
Organisations like the Community Workers' Co-Operative, Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed and the Conference of Religious of Ireland are concerned that the much-publicised row over public service pay has moved attention away from the social problems Partnership 2000 is supposed to tackle. The chairman of the INOU, Mr Barrie McLatchie, said yesterday: "While some groups are coming back loo king for a second bite of the cherry, many unemployed people are still waiting for a first bite".
Father Sean Healy of CORI said: "It is very significant that public debate in recent days has focused on the taxation and pay elements of Partnership 2000. There has been little or no reference to the social inclusion components of the programme, yet the whole social partnership process is underpinned by a commitment on all sides to social solidarity and fairness." He added: "The Government should face up to the fact that Ireland's remarkable levels of economic growth are not having a major impact on poverty."
Negotiations on Partnership 2000 almost collapsed because of an argument over how much should be allocated to tackling social problems. A figure of £525 million was finally agreed, compared with £900 million in tax cuts. Father Healy said "proportionality" in the allocation of resources between tax cuts, social inclusion and grants to employers should be maintained.
The Community Workers' Co-operative said although expenditure commitments have been met under Partnership 2000, the majority of social policy commitments have not. These include expanding the VTOS (second chance education schemes) the Local Employment Service and giving more resources to people with disabilities and to travellers.
The employer bodies are depicting the INTO stance as a case of "public sector greed". In a statement yesterday the Small Firms' Association, part of IBEC, said public sector pay had increased by 27 per cent since 1994, compared with 10 per cent in manufacturing industry. Job-creation and tax cuts "must not be threatened by a small group of public servants who are again trying to exploit their privileged position," SFA assistant director Mr Pat Delaney said.
It is unlikely ICTU will isolate itself from "third strand" organisations. Mr Cassells was one of those who pushed hardest to make social inclusion part of the Partnership 2000 agreement. He is likely to reiterate union commitment to these policies today.
He is also likely to address other thorny issues like union recognition, a national minimum wage and how to deal with public service pay relativities. He is expected to argue that they should be put in the wider context of modernising the economy and the workplace.
Much will depend on the initial positions adopted the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, and the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, this morning. If they do not give significant commitments in areas like tax reform, union recognition and social inclusion, they are likely to feel more of the ire which Mr Somers has expressed.