THE unemployed, who neither negotiated nor benefited from nine years of national agreements, now find themselves almost alone with the Taoiseach, John Bruton, in asking for another deal. However, the unemployed are looking for a very different type of agreement, from the previous three.
We want an agreement which would see unemployment as the main focus and where our representative organisation, the INOU, fully participates.
Union leaders have recently warned that their members have not benefited sufficiently from the prosperity generated by their wage moderation. Both Government and employers have emphasised the benefits of social partnership, but recognised that a new deal may be hard to negotiate when the Programme for Competitiveness and Work (PCW) expires at the end of the year.
Since 1987, key decisions for Irish economic and social development have been negotiated between Government and the social partners trade unions, farmers and employers. Three national agreements mastered the national debt and hyper inflation, which seemed uncontrollable a decade ago. National agreements have given us rapid growth, tax cuts and wage increases. Yet, despite this, one in every 10 of the population the long term unemployed and their families have not benefited at all.
In nine years of programmes the economy grew by 50 per cent but unemployment rose by 15 per cent. Although there were more jobs, more people were left out of work for longer. We now boast Europe's highest rate of long term unemployment, with 134,000 people out of work for over a year and 68,000 jobless for over three years.
For the people left behind, growing wealth has meant nothing no increased job chances, no improvements in housing, health care or education, not even meaningful increases in social welfare.
The deepening divisions in our society did not happen by accident. The unemployed were ignored because we were not at the table. Of course, individual unions, union leaders and others are concerned. But, given the scale of the crisis, this only sheltered unemployed people from the worst cutbacks. They could not create agreements to deal with our problems.
In times of low unemployment the solidarity between employed and unemployed workers allows the trade union movement to encompass both interests. When unemployment, and particularly long term unemployment, is high, the interests of those with work and those without work move too far apart. It is in this situation that the unemployed must be represented as an independent interest.
THE INOU comprises over 140 unemployed centres, local community organisations and branches of unemployed people. It is these grass roots organisations which demand full representation at national talks, and any deal would be put to them for democratic approval.
Successive governments have recognised the INOU as the representative organisation for unemployed people. On the National Economic and Social Forum (NESF), National Economic and Social Council (NESC) and elsewhere, INOU nominees represent the unemployed at Government invitation.
These bodies have had some payoffs for unemployed people but there is a growing frustration that the decisions that perpetuate mass long term unemployment are being made elsewhere. No new tier of advisory status will change this only full participation in national agreements will have any real impact.
The frustrations of low paid workers are real, too. Tax reforms went to the better paid and modest wage increases have turned into rising profits, more BMWs and falling investment. A return to free collective bargaining, however, will not solve their problems. Workers with more industrial power would get their share, but there would be no mechanism for distributing benefits to weaker groups or the unemployed. Organised negotiation of the distribution of growth is in the interest of the weak, as long as we are present to represent our own case.
The unemployed cannot threaten their way to the negotiating table. Yet, everyone knows that life can not really get better for the rest of Ireland until the scourge of unemployment is ended. Those excluded from the growing prosperity must be allowed to benefit and contribute to even greater prosperity.
The social partners have some say about whether the INOU should be at negotiations. Some major unions, including ATGWU, IMPACT and the NUJ, support us. We have basked the ICTU, IBEC and the farmers' organisations to recognise our unique position and give us public support.
ULTIMATELY, the decision as to who to gets to the negotiating table is a political one which is down to this Government alone. All the parties in the current coalition fought the last election on the unemployment issue. They have introduced some unemployment initiatives, but other priorities and vested interests have prevented action on the scale required.
Members of this Government can give unemployment the priority they claim it should have by putting the Government's authority behind the demands of the unemployed.
A proposal for a new national agreement focusing on eliminating long term unemployment and including the unemployed must win the support of unions, employers and farmers. Most importantly, it would win the approval of ordinary citizens, who realise there can he no decent future for us or our children until the waste and pain of mass unemployment is driven from our land.
