A new, flexible form of national wage agreement that allows for sectoral and local negotiation should be developed, according to the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland.
CCI chairman Mr John Dunne acceped that there were problems with the current agreement but said his orgnaisation, which represents 55 local chambers and 11,000 companies throughout Ireland, is concerned that social partnership could be abandoned.
The employers’ group IBEC have expressed doubts about the viability of another national wage agreement while unions have also said that a return to local bargaining may be desirable.
"Before taking such a serious step we should at least try to identify the lessons of the current programme and explore whether we can develop different approaches to achieve a more appropriate and robust partnership model for the future," Mr Dunne said today.
He said new models of social partnership has been adopted in other EU countries which allow for a flexible arrangement. He suggested a national base-line pay increase could be agreed at a level just below the euro-zone average with provision for additional sectoral increases "which recognise the unavoidable link between unit wage costs, international competitiveness and employment levels".
"Sectoral or local agreements might also be underpinned by measures to make unions liable for failure by their members to honour agreements negotiated on their behalf," Mr Adams said.