SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES have emerged on pay between employers and unions following the opening of talks on a new national agreement. MARTIN WALL, Industry Correspondent
At the start of negotiations at Government Buildings yesterday, employers ruled out the possibility of pay increases above the rate of inflation.
However, unions said they were seeking increases that matched the current rate of inflation, as well as compensation for rises which were eroded by inflation that occurred during the existing deal.
Unions are also looking for a share of productivity growth in the economy.
One leading union leader, Larry Broderick of the Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA), said the talks could prove to be the shortest in history if employers and Government did not stop lecturing workers about responsibility while awarding themselves huge pay increases.
Entering the talks, the director general of employers' group Ibec, Turlough O'Sullivan, said its priority was to protect Irish jobs. He said the only way to do that was "to control those things that are within our control, and one of those is pay".
Asked if proposals put forward recently by the IBOA for a 10 per cent increase over two years were realistic, Mr O'Sullivan replied: "No".
He said pay increases above inflation were not a runner.
The general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), David Begg, said he was "looking for something above what the employers say they cannot give".
He said the unions would be seeking increases that covered inflation - which he estimated would not abate very much - and that made up for a 1.7 per cent shortfall in wages under the current deal.
Jimmy Kelly of the Unite union said it would be seeking increases of above inflation as well as improvements in pensions, union representation rights and equal treatment for agency workers.
The director general of the Construction Industry Federation, Tom Parlon, said its emphasis was on maintaining the viability of companies and on protecting jobs. On pay, he said that "chasing inflation does not make any economic sense at all".
The chief executive of the Health Service Executive - Employers Agency, Gerard Barry, said it particularly wanted the elimination of demarcation rules. He said that health employers were looking for "cash on delivery; change in return for pay".
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern briefly attended the start of the talks.
Speaking to journalists, Minister for Health Mary Harney said 80 per cent of the health budget went on pay, and "we've got to make sure that we don't increase pay to the detriment of services for patients".