Power cuts are no longer a threat, the ESB believes, if the group of unions at the company accepts a 21 per cent pay deal. The deal is over and above the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness.
In addition to the proposed pay increase, the group of unions is being offered a lump sum of £2,250, to compensate for changed work practices and 2,000 redundancies.
SIPTU and the ESBOA lifted their threat of strike action, due to begin on Monday, and accepted management's offer. Other unions within the group were continuing to review the offer. The indications are that it will be adopted in principle by the executive councils of all the unions, subject to a full ballot of their members over the next few weeks.
Once that hurdle has been cleared, the way is open for further negotiations on change to take place under the ESB's Programme of Action for Competitiveness and Transparency (PACT), including a package to cover 2,000 voluntary redundancies. The ESB said the proposed package would be self-financing when improved productivity and changed work practices were taken into account.
The deal comprises an increase of 13 per cent on the existing rate, 10 per cent of which is payable on the union's acceptance of PACT and 3 per cent on its "first anniversary" - in June 2002.
In addition, a non-superannuated bonus payment of 3 per cent of basic pay will be paid annually "subject to checks each quarter to confirm implementation of the agreement".
There is also a 5 per cent profit-sharing scheme from 2001, contingent on the company achieving its projected growth target in any year. Should the prospective share be less than 5 per cent, however, a "safety net" equivalent to 2 per cent of basic pay has been negotiated by the unions as a bottom line.
"The terms of the redundancies have yet to be worked out," the ATGWU's assistant regional industrial officer, Mr Denis Rohan, said. There were a number of proposals that had yet to be finalised. The ATGWU, which has also accepted the terms on offer, has the largest membership among the ESB's current workforce of 7,500 - about 40 per cent.
The ESB has set May 31st as the final date for completion of the PACT negotiations, but few unions believe this deadline will be met because of the difficulties that negotiations on change may present in some areas. However, the consensus last night among union spokesmen was that agreement on the wider PACT proposals would not be delayed unduly.
The proposed redundancies under PACT are not likely to present a major problem, union sources, indicated last night. They stressed the voluntary nature of the job cuts mean just that, and it is generally believed that management might accept less than the targeted 2,000 figure if necessary.