Mandate, the union which represents bar workers and staff in the retail trade, has decided against entering talks on a new social partnership agreement.
Its national executive committee made the decision yesterday after a meeting in Dublin.
Rejecting the "narrow focus" of the talks agenda for the successor to Sustaining Progress, the union, which represents some 40,000 workers, said the negotiations would not address widening income gaps.
The decision, according to the union, follows a wide-ranging debate over the past 18 months.
Mandate's general secretary John Douglas said yesterday that the union does not believe that the major stakeholders in the process are prioritising the need to close the ever-widening gap between those on higher pay and those on lower and middle incomes.
Announcing the decision, Mr Douglas said: "In our judgment, the modest pay increases being proposed by the Government and employers in advance of the commencement of talks on a new social partnership deal will not adequately compensate lower-paid workers for significant price increases which bear disproportionately on people on lower incomes.
"Prices of many essential goods and services are increasing at very significant rates and are eroding our members' living standards."
In a statement, he said housing and fuel costs rose by 10.5 per cent over the last year. Electricity costs were rising by 3.1 per cent and gas by 25.26 per cent. Health costs had risen by 6.6 per cent since last year, education by 6.8 per cent and transport by 3.5 per cent.
He also said research carried out on behalf of Mandate showed that flat rate pay increases contained in predecessors to Sustaining Progress afforded greater protection to the lower paid than straightforward percentage increases, the type of which were likely to be agreed during the forthcoming round of talks and which did little to benefit lower and middle income earners.
Referring to comments by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern last week on the next social partnership negotiations, Mr Douglas said: "The Taoiseach's focus, and IBEC's agenda of 'sensible and affordable' wage growth applying across the board, irrespective of whether you are a high or a low earner, does not inspire confidence and will do little to address the widening gap between high earners and the lower and middle income earners who are struggling to make ends meet."
The trade union movement participated in social partnership arrangements for almost 20 years and had contributed to the country's economic success but the fruits of this success were not being fairly shared or distributed, he said. "Mandate is convinced that there is no real commitment to prioritising these issues in talks for a successor agreement to Sustaining Progress."
