Owner managers of firms have been warned they must engage in strengthening social partnership, if they want a flexible workforce. Labour leader and former finance minister, Mr Ruairi Quinn said yesterday the future of all firms could be made secure by co-operation through partnership agreements

Mr Quinn, who was addressing the annual general meeting of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, said it was generally agreed that social partnership had been a major success.

Mr Quinn warned that social partnership would be endangered as we headed into 2000 unless it was deepened and broadened.

Partnership could and would be most successful at local level within the workplace between owners, managers and employees.

"The involvement of employees in the decisions concerning the future of their own workplace and the security of their employment is the best guarantor of co-operation and flexibility," he said.

He said Ireland should have a higher inflation rate than the figures currently show. He said there could not be a shift in the pound versus sterling rate from 104p to 83p and not manifest itself somewhere in the economy. Many companies had had to absorb the costs because of strong competitive pressures, he said.

Mr Quinn also said it was clear that there would be a minimum wage. The idea has been opposed by ISME.

"The minimum wage in the US has not hindered that country's competitiveness," he said.

He also said there should be trade union recognition. He said employees were entitled to the best advice available on selling their asset - their labour - just as firm owners were entitled to professional advice on aspects of their business.

He said the Trade Union Bill, which Labour introduced earlier this year, does not provide for compulsory trade union membership or mandatory recognition.

He said it was, instead, assessing the right of workers to be professionally represented by trade union negotiators to represent their case on issues of pay and working conditions where a significant number of workers in a particular company wished to bring that about. Mr Quinn said: "We are now a seriously rich people." He said no other generation had faced the prospect of peace on the island of Ireland and this would contribute hugely to the country's economic well-being. However, he said that although the country was set to become more affluent, Irish people would have to think about what kind of country they wanted. It must ensure the benefits of growth are shared across society, he said.

Mr Quinn said EMU would bring great benefits to Ireland and predicted that Britain would join in 2002.

Meanwhile, Mr Peter Faulkner officially assumed the role of ISME chairman for two years yesterday. He takes over from Mr Don Curry. Mr Faulkner said ISME was being excluded from being a partner at the social partnership talks and was being dismissed as whingers when it criticised decisions made by the social partners - which included trade unions, politicians and employers. He said it was a calculated campaign that ISME was dismissed as whingers when it raised any issues of genuine concern to its own association. "It is calculated name-calling designed to excuse the social partners from having to justify their decisions," he said.