Irish unions back national pay pact

Irish unions have now formally backed the latest national pay pact in Ireland, the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF). Following member votes in all the unions affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) the delegates backed the deal by 251 to 112 at a special conference on 23 March.

The PPF provides for increases of 5.5% in each of the first two years of the deal which start this month, followed by 4% for the last nine months with higher increases for the lower paid (see Bargaining Report February 2000 for details). Speaking at the special conference, Peter Cassells the general secretary of the ICTU, warned that the government and the employers should honour the agreement "in the spirit as well as the letter". He was particularly concerned that inflation should not be allowed to erode the real value of the increases agreed.

Trade union opponents of the PPF such as Mick O'Reilly of the ATGWU general union argue that it keeps pay levels too low. The potential problems arising from the deal were highlighted immediately by strikes by Dublin's rail and bus workers. The National Bus and Railworkers' Union is not affiliated to the ICTU and so is not bound by the PPF.

After days of chaos an interim settlement to the bus dispute, providing an increase of 8.5% was agreed on 3 April with the reminder of the 20% claim being examined by an expert working group which will report at the start of May.