By the end of March, more than half-a-million trade unionists will have delivered their verdict on the terms of the new Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF) negotiated between the Government and the social partners during the past number of months. The executive of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is not recommending the package to its constituent members, although its general secretary, Mr Peter Cassells, has described it as "the best deal that can be got out of this process for workers and people on low incomes".
Running for a period of 33 months, the PPF involves agreement on pay and conditions of employment, tax reform, life-long learning and family friendly policies, including childcare. Basic pay will rise by 5.5 per cent in each of the first two twelvemonth periods, or by a minimum of £12 and £11 a week, while in the final 9 month period, a four per cent rise is envisaged, or a minimum of £9. The statutory minimum wage will rise from £4.40 an hour this year to £5.00 in 2002. Concessions to low-paid workers will be made through exempting the first £200 from PRSI charges and raising the health levy ceiling to £280 a week. In addition, teachers and many civil servants will get a 3 per cent "early settlers" award, while the Government has committed itself to spending at least £1.5 billion on social inclusion measures over the next three years.
The draft agreement received a special welcome from Father Sean Healy of the Conference of Religious of Ireland. It expands the rights of citizens beyond voting and holding a passport into the area of social, economic and cultural rights. In that regard, the National Economic and Social Council will create national progress indicators to measure economic, social and environmental developments.
Measures to give effect to elements of the draft agreement are likely to be contained in the Finance Bill and the Social Welfare Bill. But some aspirational objectives, in terms of childcare payments and the removal from the tax net of those receiving the national minimum wage, may depend for their realisation on securing economic growth in excess of 5.6 per cent a year. The same holds true for other social spending plans. The cost of the entire package has been estimated at almost £6 billion over three years and it could lead to net income rises of between 25 and 32 per cent. The package has been designed to ensure industrial peace, while sharing the fruits of economic growth more equitably than was the case under previous social contracts. And it will pour a great deal of extra money into an overheating economy, where the inflation rate is already the highest in the EU.
An ambitious element of the agreement involves an attempt to break the old system of pay relativities within the public sector. Union negotiators have agreed a bench-marking approach that would recommend salary levels for the main grades in the civil and public service, in the context of private sector pay. A report on bench-marking is due to be published in 2002 and all outstanding special pay claims will be processed through this mechanism. There is no guarantee that the new approach will succeed. The last attempt to get rid of pay relativities, through a "restructuring" clause in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress led to a 3 per cent pay ceiling ballooning into a 15 per cent award for nurses. Still, the promise of three years of industrial peace; generous wage increases for the low paid, and a range of measures promoting social inclusion are positive elements that should be endorsed by all the social partners.