The Future of Irish Social Partnership

The abandonment of militancy in favor of consensus and the recognition that the interests of employers and workers needed to be accommodated in the national economic interest not only marked a turning point in labor relations but also constituted a social and political watershed .

The strategic macroeconomic objectives of low inflation, increased competitiveness , job creation, control of taxation , and healthy public finances were achieved and maintained in a remarkably short time frame. Thanks to the setting up of an institutional framework, the social partners are committed and communication is frank, open , and positive, notwithstanding great strains between the demands of MNCs and the responsibility of the union to protect the rights and job stability of their members . This is much harder to accomplish during recessions than it is during boom economic growth periods.

Tom Wall

There has been a significant change. I remember shop steward training courses where the attitude was very hostile to employers on a personal as well as an intellectual and collective level. That has fundamentally changed. People are more confident, and class divisions aren't as apparent as they used to be; a lot less than in Britain, I suspect. The guy in the maintenance department or on the shop floor is as likely to play on or even be a member of the golf club as the manager.

It will inevitably run into problems, some believe it already has. I think we'll probably find a way around that. But we still have a relatively democratic process. Every agreement goes back to the unions who ask their members to vote. So there's no doubt at some stage they'll say no. Now maybe we'll go back and renegotiate but we've always wondered about that. I think the institutions surrounding the partnership are so much a part of our society and our political arrangements now that that will continue.

The lesson to be learned from the Irish experience is that sound institutions, a high degree of realism , and rational behavior are necessary ingredients for the attainment of social objectives. The hatchet of overt industrial conflict has been buried in the land of the Celtic Tiger.