A meeting of the Construction Industry Federation and trade unions has ended at the Labour Relations Commission following what was described as a "robust exchange".
The CIF is seeking a 20% cut in the rates of pay contained in the Registered Employment Agreement for workers in the construction industry which the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has pledged to resist.
After the meeting, Fergus Whelan of the ICTU's construction division said he would now begin a national consultation period with workers. Both sides agreed today that action must be taken to combat a rise in black market workers in the sector.
Both the CIF and ICTU said the industry had been let down by the Government, which they said was not doing enough to protect what few jobs there were and to attract investment for big projects.
ICTU also accused the State of failing to ensure that it was not contracting companies who were using black market workers.
