Since the Soviet Union's collapse a new form of "turbo capitalism" has emerged which is "much harder, more mobile, more ruthless and more certain about what it needs to make it tick", ICTU's new general secretary, Mr David Begg, has said. The "over-riding objective" of this "turbo capitalism" was to maximise shareholder value, and it saw unions, taxation and all forms of regulation as obstacles to be removed, he told the closing session of the congress's biennial conference.
"It includes people who are making huge money out of this country and are free-riding on our efforts to bring social cohesion," he said. "You cannot have partnership with someone who does not recognise your right to exist in the first place."
The movement should make it a priority to recruit more than one million workers currently outside unions.
The ICTU general treasurer and SIPTU general secretary, Mr John McDonnell, said: "In the relationship with employers and Government, the number of workers we organise, the proportion we organise in each industry and sector . . . and the influence they wield as workers, voters, consumers and investors remains the pivotal consideration."
Earlier, delegates agreed to tighten the rules on transfers between unions to avoid bitter internal rows like those in Aer Lingus and CIE in the past year.
The SIPTU president, Mr Des Geraghty, called for greater co-operation and made a solidarity gesture to the suspended ATGWU official, Mr Mick O'Reilly, who recruited former SIPTU train-drivers earlier this year.
"I will do everything I can to help Mick O'Reilly resolve his differences with his own union," Mr Geraghty told the conference. As a result, ICTU is to contact the Transport and General Workers' Union general secretary, Mr Bill Morris, in London next week to see if anything can be done to assist Mr O'Reilly.