The Taoiseach will call for a responsible attitude to be taken by public sector unions when he addresses a special forum on Partnership 2000 in Dublin Castle next Tuesday.
The importance of partnership will be stressed by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, at a meeting with all the parties to national agreements as pressure builds up over the terms of the Garda pay offer.
Mr Ahern is also expected to point out that public sector unions have fared better than the private sector in pay settlements under the PCW and Partnership 2000.
Government sources, meanwhile, have no plans to meet the public services committee of ICTU, which demanded a "high level meeting" with the Government yesterday to address "public sector pay developments in the context of partnership" before Tuesday's general review.
The chairman, Mr Peter McLoone, and the secretary, Mr Dan Murphy, of ICTU's public services committee, warned last night that Government, employers and unions should act responsibly to resolve difficulties over pay without jeopardising the social partnership approach that had "done more than anything else to improve economic performance and standards of living".
In an illustration of the unease caused by the recent pay offer to gardai and the pending demand by secondary teachers, Mr McLoone and Mr Murphy said public service unions were not to blame for the current difficulties.
"We have warned over many months that there would be a reaction if certain groups fared better than others in pay deals. In the context of national agreements, it is simply not credible to believe that some groups can be dealt with in isolation," they added.
They said the current difficulties arose from a change in Government attitudes towards public sector pay deals. Pay constraints were rigidly applied to those who settled in the early stages of the PCW. But the parameters had been extended considerably for certain groups which settled later. "The responsible approach now is to meet and deal with the issue within the context and structures of partnership - not to return to a free-for-all by the back door," they said.
Public service unions would stand by their priorities under Partnership 2000, Mr McLoone and Mr Murphy stated. These included the implementation of the national minimum wage, a Budget which put more money into the pockets of low-income and middle-income earners, measures to tackle long-term unemployment and the development of hospitals, schools and other public services worthy of the 21st century.
A blunt warning about the difficulties to be faced in negotiating a new agreement later this year came last night from the regional secretary of the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union, Mr Michael O'Reilly.
If the Government refused to renegotiate a comprehensive pay review under the national wage agreement, the ATGWU would urge its members to make wage claims above the pay terms in Partnership 200 and support any industrial action in pursuit of such claims, he said.
Mr O'Reilly added that the Government could not camouflage the Garda pay offer. It clearly exceeded the terms of the national wage agreement.
"The ATGWU supports calls from the teachers and other public sector trade unions to renegotiate the pay terms of Partnership 2000. But this renegotiation must include the private sector as well." Private sector employees had done poorly out of wage agreements, he said.
