Unions are to consider mounting joint campaigns against the terms of the proposed national pay deal.
As talks on a wider partnership agreement continued at Government Buildings last night there were signs of growing discontent among unions at the terms of the pay deal.
One union leader, Mr Paddy O'Shaughnessy, of the Building and Allied Trades Union (BATU), described the deal as a "fiasco" and said it had caused "a great deal of anger".
He was particularly critical of the "compliance" proposals, which require unions to refer disputes over some issues to binding arbitration. He said unions had not been adequately consulted about the measure, which had far-reaching implications.
"You don't affiliate to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) for things like this to happen.
"I really feel the views of certain unions in the private sector, my own included, don't really count at all," he said.
Opposition to the deal, which proposes a 7 per cent pay increase in phases over 18 months, is not confined to the private sector.
The executive of the Civil and Public Service Union, which represents 11,000 lower-paid civil servants, decided yesterday to recommend rejection of the deal.
There is also disquiet within unions including the Irish Nurses' Organisation and the Teachers' Union of Ireland over the outcome of the benchmarking process, which demands work-practice changes in return for pay increases.
Most unions in the public sector, however, are likely to support the proposed terms, given that benchmarking provides average increases of 8.9 per cent on top of the basic terms.
Mr O'Shaughnessy said BATU was traditionally opposed to national pay deals, but had "lived with them" once they were adopted by ICTU's membership.
There was increased anger on this occasion, however, about the compliance measures which "should have been turfed back out" as soon as they had been proposed.
Sources said last night unions would consider mounting joint campaigns against the deal, after the executive council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions meets to discuss the issue on Monday week.
Congress has set Wednesday, March 19th, for its special delegate conference to decide whether to back a new partnership agreement.
Negotiations on some non-pay elements were continuing last night in bilateral talks between Government officials and the social partners.
Following their meeting, farm leaders called on the Taoiseach to intervene to ensure their continued participation in social partnership. The leaders of both the IFA and ICMSA said Mr Ahern's intervention was necessary to break the deadlock. The partnership talks are to resume today at Government Buildings.
