Anti-poverty and equality groups will stage a protest at this morning's session of the Partnership for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF).
The 26 groups, which constitute the Community Platform, are planning to walk out of the meeting to highlight what they describe as the Government's failure to take social partnership seriously.
The Platform includes groups such as the Forum of People with Disabilities, the Irish Refugee Council, Pavee Point and St Vincent de Paul.
Mr Donal Toolan, spokesman for the Community Platform said the social aspect of the partnership agreement was being completely ignored and all the emphasis was on pay bargaining.
"Fundamentally it's much more than a pay agreement but you wouldn't think that. It is estimated that 80 per cent of people with disabilities are unemployed - what will the pay agreement mean to them?" he said.
Mr Toolan said in recent months the Government had added to "its already abysmal record of undermining the rights of marginalised communities and failure to uphold the principle of equality". He pointed to the Disability Bill, the criminalisation of Travellers involved in illegal encampments and the deportation of failed asylum-seekers with Irish-born children. He said the social groups were "appalled" at the proposed changes in equal status legislation which would row back on people's rights.
The affected groups were never consulted on that, despite their role in the PPF. "The Community Platform is deeply concerned at the lack of meaningful consultation by the Government with the affected groups and organisations, despite the fact that consultation is the rock on which social partnership is built," he said.
Mr Toolan said the Community Platform was calling on political parties to declare where they stood on the equality and rights agenda and the role of social partnership.
"The participant organisations and supporters of the Platform will ensure that these concerns become election issues in every constituency in the country," Mr Toolan said.
