Past social partnership agreements have been a failure for workers and a new model for wage bargaining is required in any future agreement, Mr Michael O'Reilly, regional secretary of the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union has said.

Speaking at the launch of the union's pamphlet A New Agenda for Economic Power Sharing, he declared: "Social partnership is an illusion and a failure. Trade unions have presided over a decline in workers' share of economic growth."

Mr O'Reilly said the reality of social partnership was low real wage increases for workers, tax cuts which favoured high income groups, deteriorating public services and rising poverty.