The Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, has warned nurses and other public service unions they cannot adopt an a la carte approach to Labour Court recommendations.
At the publication of the annual reports of the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court yesterday, she said the Government wanted a new national agreement, but it could not be at any price. She pointed out that it had been the nurses' unions which had asked for their claim to be referred to the Labour Court.
The Labour Court had looked at it objectively and given its recommendations. The Government accepted the recommendations. "It may not always like them, but as parties to a dispute, we have to be brave enough and honest enough to accept the outcome. It is incumbent on others to do the same," she said.
An unprecedented decade of industrial peace had resulted in huge economic benefits, which could be put at risk. In 1995, 125,000 production days had been lost because of disputes but the figure last year was only 37,000. Social partners negotiated from different perspectives but they shared common goals. "We all want to improve the quality of life for everyone in this country."
The chairman of the Labour Court, Mr Finbarr Flood, and the chief executive of the Labour Relations Commission, Mr Kieran Mulvey, voiced concern at recent developments on public sector pay.
In a comment as clearly aimed at the Government as it was at the trade unions, Mr Flood said the court should be seen as the court of last resort.
"This can only happen if all the relevant parties - the Government, employers, trade unions - operate within this understanding. Unfortunately, this is not the practice, and in many instances a court recommendation is seen as the basis for further negotiations," he said.
In his report for 1998, Mr Flood called for the support of "all the relevant bodies" for the court. This was needed to protect the industrial relations structures of the State and to discourage bad industrial relations behaviour.
Mr Mulvey expressed concern at both sides in disputes for not adopting proper industrial relations procedures. "There are unions balloting before even coming before the LRC or the court and companies imposing deadlines that then mean crisis interventions," he said.
Some of the current disputes were in key areas, with the potential to create an image of instability externally, he said.