Like everyone else really, trade unions could have done without the complicating issue of soaring inflation as they tried to figure out the post-pandemic “new normal”.
As Siptu delegates passed motions about old familiars such as training, sick pay and workplace recognition over the past three days at the organisation's Biennial Delegate Conference in Sligo, rising prices and the increased pay claims they will inevitably prompt made an unwelcome return to the agenda after a long absence.
The issue poses particular problems for Siptu and other unions because of the speed with which it has evolved and uncertainty over how long it might persist. Many members are tied into multiyear deals which, unlike the public sector pay deal, made no provision for sudden spikes in the cost of living.
For others, the ink is barely dry on new agreements that seemed pretty good when they were signed but have suddenly started to feel painfully dated.
“It is changing so quickly,” acknowledges Neil McGowan, a full-time organiser for the Electronics Engineering and Industrial Production sector. “I was involved in an agreement in the latter part of last year for 2.75 to 3 per cent per annum, but the value of that will be completely eroded for people now.
“Agreements you did six months ago were good agreements at the time but in the current circumstances, they just don’t stand up and we are going to have to revisit some of those.”
The ability to do that depends, of course, on the wording of the original text and many employees find themselves in situations similar to Paul Bennett, a shop steward at Liebherr Container Cranes in Killarney.
The union represents around 350 staff at the company, most of them skilled workers, and many earning what would be considered good wages but their incomes are suddenly in significant decline.
“At the moment we have what they call a recovery plan agreement which we agreed about two years ago so we are really tied into no cost increasing claims, which would obviously include pay rises, until July 2023,” says Bennett.
“A lot of the lads have to drive 20-30 miles to get to work and obviously the fuel price rises have really impacted how much they have to pay all of their other bills. So we will be seeking a significant pay increase when the deal does run out.”
Representing colleagues
Tom Healy, on the other hand, will be representing colleagues in talks very soon with Cartamundi, a boardgame and card printing company in Waterford, and expects to be seeking a pay rise of between 4 and 5 per cent. He says the company is good to work for and is doing well, but he is not quite sure what the reaction will be.
“Since 2011 we have had steady increases of between 1.5 and 2 per cent, every year . . . depending on how the company has done that year. We are going in next week for pay talks and we are hoping that the outcome will reflect the increase in inflation or near enough.
“They tend to look around at what others are doing but that’s difficult to say right now, I’ve been hearing of people getting 3 or 3.5 per cent but inflation has kept going up so I’ve no idea how they are going to react.”
The possibility of industrial action is rarely mentioned but never really ruled out
In Dublin Bus, the union is expecting a date in the Labour Court to hear their claim for a new deal that would be backdated to the start of 2019. No figures are mentioned, or perhaps confirmed, as it feels as if even naming a number now in a rapidly shifting situation is to potentially deal yourself a losing hand.
“We’ve been in negotiations with the company for over a year now and we have had to re-evaluate our claim, upwards obviously, to try counteract the effects of inflation on the staff,” says Stephen Millane, Siptu’s Dublin Bus branch president.
The company is hiring at the moment and so union representatives are hoping that here, as elsewhere post-pandemic, a desire to attract new staff and retain existing workers will soften management’s resolve somewhat.
‘Attract and retain’ argument
The whole “attract and retain” argument is the focus of hopes for many in traditionally low-paid sectors such as security and Christy Waters’s exasperation at the fact that most workers in the security sector haven’t had a raise in almost three years is pretty obvious.
The basic pay in security is generally €11.65, “pretty bad” Waters remarks, and moves to implement a 40c per hour increase on foot of an Employment Regulation Order have been delayed, perhaps halted, by challenges from three companies to the legality of the process.
Waters describes as “codswallop” the notion that workers should refrain from lodging claims in line with inflation in order to avoid fuelling it, a slight variation on what was almost the catchphrase of the conference.
The possibility of industrial action is rarely mentioned but never really ruled out. It is a more realistic threat in some sectors than others but there is a feeling that the stakes are fast becoming substantial enough to make it feel far less unthinkable if required.
In the meantime, getting companies to agree the sort of deals union members are suddenly expecting will clearly be difficult in the current environment. Although the first challenge, given the pace at which things are changing, is settling on how much exactly to ask for.