THERE will be no new national pay agreement without the Government and employers agreeing to a radically new approach to industrial relations, the general secretary of ICTU, Mr Peter Cassells, has warned.
Many Irish companies are still practising industrial relations dating back to the industrial revolution, Mr Cassells said, "denying them (the employees) any real say in the organisations which they have helped to create. Other companies still deny workers the right to be represented by a union of their choice.
"This exclusion is unfair to workers and deprives companies and the economy of the valuable input of our modern, well educated, committed workforce. In debating the future of national programmes, we are not talking about a half hearted partnership which excludes the majority of workers and their representatives. The consensus at national level could only be renewed and maintained on the basis of full partnership at company level."
Mr Cassells is the latest in a series of trade union leaders questioning the value of another national agreement. The current one expires in December. Like the general secretary of SIPTU, the State's largest union, Mr Billy Attley, Mr Cassells has highlighted in particular the disillusion which many trade unionists feel at the failure of employers to practise "the partnership approach" they have endorsed at national level in successive agreements.
Speaking on the eve of a major ICTU conference on "Preparing Ireland for the Information Age" Mr Cassells said: "I would welcome a national debate about future of a partnership programmes as we reach the end of our thirds consecutive programme. After almost a decade of national agreements involving the Government and social partners, such a debate is both necessary and desirable.
"Whatever the outcome of this debate, we are not talking about trading in our 93 agreement for a 96 version of the same model. After nearly 10 years, only a radically new and different model to prepare us for the new millennium is worthy of consideration."
Mr Cassells went on to criticise the failure of successive governments to implement new policies. He instanced the 15 year delay in implementing recommendations for the complete overhaul of the taxation system made by the Commission on Taxation.
"Models of industrial relations and workplace organisation based on the industrial revolution are not suited to the information age. Congress is concerned that Irish people in general and managers in particular are not fully aware of the implications of the technological revolution for all aspects of life in Ireland. We have organised our conference to improve our understanding of the issues involved and to help us reap the benefits of the information society while avoiding its pitfalls.
The biggest threat to the future stability and cohesion of Irish society is the exclusion of tens of thousands of people from economic, social and political life.
"Speeches about the great achievements of the Irish economy ring hollow in the ears of those people on the margins of our society who are trying to cope with the daily grind of poverty, drugs, crime and unemployment," Mr Cassells said.