A breakthrough in the row between IBEC and the ICTU over union recognition is expected within the next two weeks. The dispute has threatened to undermine Partnership 2000 and prevent the negotiation of any further national wage agreements.
The High Level Group on Union Recognition has not met for over a year, but the Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Mr Tom Kitt, is expected to reconvene it shortly, following separate confidential discussions with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Irish Business and Employers' Confederation during the past week.
When Mr Kitt met senior ICTU figures last week they warned him that any further delay in resolving the issue in the group would lead to a renewal of disputes like that at Ryanair, which closed Dublin Airport last March. They said feeling in some trade unions was running so high that, once next year's conference season begins, delegates would be demanding industrial action.
The ICTU put forward new proposals which represented a significant hardening of its previous stance. These include mandatory powers for the Labour Court to summon parties to hearings and impose recommendations on employers who refuse to use a Labour Relations Commission code of practice to resolve disputes.
Congress also wants employees to have the right to union recognition, even if they do not comprise a majority of the workforce. It cites the findings of the Flynn-McCauley report on the Ryanair dispute and the Supreme Court judgment in the SIPTU v Nolan Transport dispute earlier this year to support its argument.
It said it was imperative for the Government to take a lead in reconvening the High Level Group. The Minister subsequently discussed the issues with IBEC, which indicated its willingness to re-enter talks.