THE president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), Mr John Freeman, has said he would resign rather than accept pay cuts as part of any agreement to replace the Programme for Competitiveness and Work.
Mr Freeman told The Irish Times yesterday he was disturbed at reports that the Government and employer bodies want any successor to the PCW to include provisions for pay cuts if companies are experiencing difficulties.
After the IBEC general council meeting on Wednesday, its director general, Mr John Dunne, said wage cuts might be needed to save jobs, especially in companies dependent on exports to Britain.
However, Mr Freeman said he was concerned at reports that the Government had taken soundings with senior trade unionists over a 10 per cent pay cut if Britain stayed outside the EMU and Irish exporters had sterling problems. "The unions will not be involved, or prepared to discuss, wage cuts under any circumstances."
Asked what would happen if an agreement was concluded which provided for pay cuts, Mr Freeman said: "If that was accepted as part of the negotiations and as part of the deal, then congress would have to seek a new president." However, he thought this unlikely.
Mr Freeman is also the senior Irish official of the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union (ATGWU). He made his comments yesterday during a break in the all Ireland conference of his union, the Amalgamated Transport Workers Union (ATWU), in Malahide.
The ATGWU, the largest trade union in Ireland, has traditionally opposed national pay agreements. Delegates passed a motion rejecting "the principle behind the PCW because these type of agreements always lead to the lowest common denominator in wages and conditions".