SIPTU shop stewards have put increased take-home pay, tax reform and job security as their three top priorities in a survey conducted by the union. It was part of an intensive four-month consultative process conducted at branch and section level with members in the approach to the conference. Details of the survey, which will be given to members this morning also shows that only 11 per cent favour a return to local bargaining. However, support for centralised agreements has shrunk to only 32 per cent. Most shop stewards, 57 per cent, favour some combination of local and national pay bargaining.
Other union concerns included the cost of housing, achieving real increases in living standards, equality, improved pensions, better healthcare provision, trade union recognition, raising wages in the low pay sectors, more childcare facilities, and health and safety standards in the workplace.
The survey was supplemented with members' concerns in each area.
For instance, while they welcomed the 50 per cent increase in employment over the past 12 years of national agreement, they expressed concern at the numbers of temporary contracts, regional disparities and the continuing vulnerability of workers in traditional sectors.
As anticipated, take-home pay was the key focus of concern.
"There is universal expectation of significant pay increases which are justified in the light of greater than anticipated growth rates, increased labour productivity and the overall growth in profits," the consultative process report says.
There was also a "view that pay moderation only applied to workers, while senior management and employers rewarded themselves variously through share option schemes, bonuses and salary increases".
There had been "insufficient progress" in profit-sharing schemes, despite some notable exceptions.
On taxation, the report states that SIPTU's focus on measures such as the introduction of tax credits and increased tax allowances, to maximise benefits to low- and middle-income earners, was widely understood by members. They also felt that items such as house prices should be factored into the cost-of-living index on which national pay rounds are partly based.
Mr John McDonnell, SIPTU's general secretary, told members yesterday that a net increase of 8,000 members had been achieved over the past two years, bringing the total financial membership to 191,662, an all-time high.
More than £944,000 had been spent on training and education and over 5,000 members had attended courses run by SIPTU college.
On the equality front, 35 per cent of recent appointments of full-time officials had been of women, bringing the total number of women employed as officials to 30 per cent. The union was on target for achieving equality of representation by 2010.
The union is also launching a membership drive that will focus on young people, women, atypical workplaces and non-union multinationals.
There will also be an e-branch to provide services electronically to individual SIPTU members.