A recent report by Ireland's National Competitiveness Council, which backed a continuation of the current tripartite partnership at national level, was followed in May 1999 by a survey which showed a strong degree of underlying pay stability in the private sector.
May 1999 saw the publication of a report by the National Competitiveness Council (NPC), which called for the continuation of national partnership agreements between government, trade unions and employers' organisations. Shortly afterwards, a survey of private sector wage settlements indicated that the pay provisions of the current Partnership 2000 (P2000) national agreement (IE9702103F), which runs from 1997-2000, remains remarkably stable. However, concerns about public sector pay continue, with the government facing renewed demands from various groups - such as nurses, the police and fire brigade staff - for additional pay rises under the previous national agreement, the Programme for Competitiveness and Work (PCW, 1994-6).
The private sector pay analysis, published on 13 May 1999 by the independent weekly, Industrial Relations News (IRN), covered 1,222 pay deals agreed since the commencement of P2000 in January 1997. Details of the agreements were made available by the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU), Ireland's largest trade union with 200,000 members.
Some important caveats, however, need to be entered in relation to the findings. As the survey involved unionised firms only, it failed to pick up on anecdotal evidence that non-union multinational companies tend to pay above the "going rate." There are also indications that average increases in some local services as well as in the building industry have also been higher than the P2000 minimum. However, the overall results are still impressive
The analysis shows that the basic pay terms of P2000 applied in 88% of the 1,222 recorded settlements, though almost 12% of cases involved pay rises which clearly breached the agreed 9.25% minimum over the 3.25 years of P2000. The 9.25% includes a "capped" local bargaining element of 2%.
However, the study also shows that in 23% of cases, what are known as "fringe benefits" were also agreed. Given that these benefits included such diverse items as increased annual leave, various bonus payments, hours reductions, shift premia and meal allowances, they are generally cost increasing. Therefore, such deals involve technical breaches of P2000.
The Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) maintained that the survey actually understates the level of adherence to the basic terms of P2000. Its director, Turlough O' Sullivan, stated that the overall percentage adherence rate is in the "high 90s" and he also claimed there was "little movement" in relation to fringe benefits.
Meanwhile, in its report (its second) issued on 6 May 1999, the NPC, established under P2000, warned that the biggest challenge facing those who will try to frame a new partnership deal in 2000 would be to design an agreement which builds on the achievements of the past decade but remains consistent with a more flexible, dynamic and competitive economy.
The most significant pay drift in the Irish economy has occurred in the public sector where the government has yet to reach final agreement on the local bargaining provisions in the PCW, which pre-dates P2000 (IE9812266F). The government now wants to "clear the decks" of all PCW claims and conclude agreements on P2000 local bargaining before entering talks on a new national pact. Established public sector unions, representing groups such as civil servants and teachers - the so-called "early settlers" - concluded their PCW deals over two years ago. Others, such as nurses, the police, the army, firefighters and local authority workers, have since secured further increases of up to 14% in some cases. Now the "early settlers" want to catch up with these "late settlers" in order to maintain traditional relativities.