Employer, union and Government representatives were last night attempting to finalise agreement on new measures to prevent exploitation of workers.
After talks on the pay aspects of a new partnership deal were adjourned, a small group of key negotiators remained to continue discussions on employment standards. The talks at Government Buildings form part of the overall negotiations on a national partnership programme to succeed the outgoing agreement Sustaining Progress. There had been hopes that a deal on pay could be concluded over the weekend, but little progress was made. Talks on pay are to resume this afternoon.
Employment standards have already been the subject of almost three months of negotiations.
An outline agreement was reached late last month encompassing a range of measures designed to combat exploitation of workers and the displacement of jobs.
Among the steps provisionally agreed were the appointment of 60 additional labour inspectors - to bring the total to 90 - and a dramatic increase in penalties for breaches of employment law.
Agreement was also reached on new legislation to deter employers from making workers redundant for the purpose of replacing them with cheaper labour.
The employment standards issue was then "parked" to allow the parties to engage on other issues, including pay. Sources at the talks said last night they were attempting to conclude the "final 10 per cent" of a deal on labour standards that had remained outstanding since last month.
Progress was reported to be slow, with the knock-on effect that negotiations on pay had to be put back, most likely until 5pm today.
Talks are due to take place this morning, however, on issues including modernisation in the public service, with the Government insisting that any pay increases be linked to service improvements.
The talks at the weekend began on Saturday afternoon but adjourned at 9.30pm without significant progress. As the parties returned to Government Buildings yesterday afternoon they were no closer to agreement on key pay issues such as the duration of any new deal or the level of increases to apply.
Employers and the Government want an agreement to run for up to three years, while unions favour a shorter deal because of uncertainty over future inflation.
While a 33-month deal had emerged as the most likely, a shorter agreement could come back on to the agenda if the sides are unable to agree on long-term pay increases.
Employers were continuing to rule out the unions' demand for some form of flexibility allowing unions to pursue "top-up" pay increases in highly-profitable companies.
Failure to secure such a provision would put pressure on the union side to secure annual pay increases of up to, or at least close to, 5 per cent. Those issues will be back on the agenda when talks resume today.
