Talks on a 10-year social partnership programme resume at Government Buildings today amid optimism that agreement can be reached early in the week. A range of issues in areas including pensions, employment standards, social housing, healthcare and education remained outstanding when talks adjourned without agreement on Saturday night.
However, it is expected that agreement on all of the issues concerned will be reached in the next day or two. That would ensure the continuation of the social partnership process begun in 1987.
Cori Justice Commission director Fr Seán Healy said yesterday the community and voluntary sector would not accept an agreement that did not have substantial commitments in the area of social provision. "At this point what is on the table would not be sufficient for us to sign an agreement," he said. "But I am still very hopeful that an agreement can be reached in the first half of the coming week."
Irish Congress of Trade Unions general secretary David Begg said he believed the talks process was "nearly at an end" and would conclude "in the early part of the week".
The talks between the Government and the social partners - employers, unions, farm bodies and the community and voluntary sector - began in early February, in the hope that a successor to Sustaining Progress could be achieved by mid-March.
A deadlock ensued, however, between employers, unions and the Government over the measures needed to underpin employment standards and combat exploitation of migrant workers.
An outline agreement, including the introduction of stiffer penalties for employment law breaches and a trebling of the number of labour inspectors, was reached at the end of April. But a number of residual issues in this area remain to be resolved.
These include measures to stamp out the use of "sub-contractors", who are in reality employees, for the purpose of avoiding tax and other liabilities, and the question of how employment agencies should be regulated.
Unions are also seeking Government action to protect workers' pensions, while agreement on the next increase in the minimum wage has also to be reached. Paid parental leave, the gender pay gap and lifelong learning are among other items on the pay and workplace agenda that are still to be finalised.
On the broader social and economic front, social housing, social welfare rates and support for family carers are among the main outstanding issues. In a 62-page document circulated to the parties last week, the Government suggested that 23,000 new units of social housing would be built by local authorities and the voluntary and co-operative sector between 2006 and 2008. Community and voluntary sector negotiators are seeking to have this figure increased to 27,000, as one of a number of measures they are pursuing to bolster the social housing provisions of a new agreement.
The basic pay elements of an agreement have already been finalised, with workers due to receive a 10 per cent pay increase over 27 months. These are to be broken into four phases: (a) an initial rise of 3 per cent; (b) 2 per cent after six months; (c) 2.5 per cent after further nine months; (d) 2.5 per cent after further six months, to cover final six months of agreement.
Workers earning up to €10.25 an hour are to receive an additional half per cent increase after the first six months, giving them a 2.5 per cent rise at that point.
Payment dates vary for workers in different sectors, and some in the private sector will have their increases backdated to January 1st. The first increase in the public sector comes into effect on December 1st. As reported in The Irish Times on Saturday, public sector unions have agreed to a range of reforms, including a removal of the ban on outsourcing core public service work, in return for pay increases.