The Taoiseach will renew discussions with senior trade union leaders over the next two days in an effort to ensure an early resumption of talks on a new national pay agreement. This could be followed by written commitments from the Government.
However, it now seems unlikely, according to Government sources, that there would be large-scale concessions to low-income groups in the Budget unless these were part of a larger deal on a successor to Partnership 2000.
Meanwhile, informal contacts between leaders of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Government were continuing late last night. Any progress will be reported to the ICTU executive when it meets this morning.
The executive will also hear a report from its expert group on taxation, outlining various options on tackling low pay. These are expected to include increasing the PAYE allowance, looking again at tax credits and lifting PRSI thresholds.
It is possible the executive may decide to re-enter talks immediately, but it will be mindful that SIPTU's executive is not meeting until tomorrow.
Congress may therefore decide to defer any final decision until it is sure that the State's largest union is back on track.
Last night the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, called on the unions to re-enter talks. She told the Dail she "wanted to hear the social partners' views, and the best forum, indeed the only sensible one, was the negotiating table on a successor to Partnership 2000".
Senior trade union sources said it might need a further intervention by the Taoiseach to ensure a resumption of talks. It was with this in mind that discussions were taking place late last night on the possibility of a written commitment elaborating on Mr Ahern's verbal commitments to ICTU's general purposes committee last week. Following that meeting the Cabinet approved further "re-balancing" measures worth £125 million, aimed at low-income groups.
However, the Mandate general secretary, Mr Owen Nulty, who represents more than 35,000 low-paid workers in the retail sector and bar trade, estimated last night that it would cost £600 million to take people on the proposed national minimum wage out of the tax net.
"We need to do that over two budgets," he said, "but we need some if it now."
The ICTU general secretary, Mr Peter Cassells, made it clear after leaving the initial round of talks at Government Buildings that the needs of the low-paid remained a priority. "We are quite determined there will no agreement and no national programme unless the position of the low-paid is dealt with once and for all," he said.
The SIPTU president, Mr Des Geraghty, said his union's position and that of Congress remained that people on the minimum wage should be taken out of the tax net within two years.
