SIPTU will hold a special delegate conference to consider the terms of any agreement to succeed the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness.
Several unions, including SIPTU, consult members on key objectives to be sought from new agreements before negotiations begin, but SIPTU will now be the only major union in the State that will be obliged under its rules to hold a conference to discuss terms afterwards. The final say on whether to recommend terms for acceptance by the members will remain with the national executive council. But, although the special conference status will be consultative it will be almost impossible for the NEC to reject the outcome.
In another important rule change SIPTU has decided that in future NEC members will be elected by delegates to the union's regional conferences rather than by secret ballot of all members. The debate was held in private session and it is understood there were objections from some delegates to depriving ordinary members of a vote for the NEC.
However the majority view was that shop stewards and branch activists should decide its composition. The postal ballot remains in place for the election of SIPTU's three most powerful positions, the president, general-secretary and vice-president.
The chairman of the rules revision committee Mr Mick Halpenny said the decision to hold a special delegate conference to consider any future national agreements would "change the whole way the union does its business". He conceded it could also affect the way such agreements are negotiated.
He defended the decision of yesterday's conference to abolish the postal ballot for the NEC on the basis that it would make the latter more representative of SIPTU activists. The conference also agreed to reduce the number of SIPTU regions to five.