Sticking with the return to the days before national agreements and "social partnership", the inability of some unions to control their members raises further doubts for the future of the latest national accord.

Given that the members concerned belonged to SIPTU, the largest union in the State and one of the most ardent proponents on the union side of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, employers could be forgiven for asking what chance now for partnership when the largest and most organised of unions cannot prevent its own people taking unofficial action and secondary or wildcat action.

One of the major advantages of successive pay agreements is the stability it has given to industrial relations in this State. That, in turn, has allowed a favourable impression to be sent abroad, whether to potential corporate investors or the tourism trade. While such agreements do not strip any side of their right to protect their positions, each side would do very well to remember how much easier it is to lose a good reputation than to gain one.