A row has broken out at negotiations on a new public service agreement, after the Government side gave documents to unions who were not affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions before they were distributed to Congress affiliates by the four key union negotiators.
Intensive talks on a successor to the Public Service Stability Agreement got underway in earnest last week between the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Public Services Committee of ICTU, which represents over 20 unions.
There are four central negotiators for the ICTU unions - Forsa General Secretary Kevin Callinan, INMO General Secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha, SIPTU Deputy General Secretary John King and INTO General Secretary John Boyle.
However, a number of non-affiliated bodies are involved in a separate strand of the negotiations, including the Garda Representative Association, the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, Defence Forces bodies PDFORRA and RACO, along with the Psychiatric Nurses Association and the Irish Hospital Consultants Association.
It's understood that the parties had agreed to preserve confidentiality, and the four ICTU negotiators were to brief their affiliates at a meeting tomorrow morning on progress at the talks.
However, it emerged today that non-affiliated representative bodies were given access to discussion documents from the Government side before the ICTU affiliates received them from their own negotiators.
A number of unions are furious that they have been "left in the dark".
A spokesperson for the Public Services Committee acknowledged tonight there was "a lot of unhappiness".
He said the four key negotiators had been told to "keep things tight" - and queried why the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform had released the documents to non-affiliated unions in this way.
While it is not unusual to have a core group of negotiators in such complex talks, in normal times all unions would have representatives in the building, and would be able to glean details of the agenda as matters progressed.
However, the pandemic has meant that much of the negotiation is taking place online, making communication in complex talks more difficult than usual.
The row is likely to be raised at tomorrow morning's online meeting of all ICTU affiliates, who will also be briefed on progress to date.
The talks are being framed around five pillars: pay, sectoral bargaining, reform and modernisation, dispute resolution, and the potential roll back of unpopular austerity measures imposed during the financial crisis, including additional unpaid hours.
It's understood that a two year agreement is under consideration, rather than the usual three.
While no specific amounts have been proposed for pay rises, there will be a sectoral bargaining element.
Management has also proposed a complex enhanced dispute resolution framework involving engagement initially at local level, then at sectoral level, moving to a Public Service Agreement Group, and finally to a new 'Tripartite Implementation Body' which would deal with issues of national importance only.
The Government side is seeking a broad modernisation agenda, and also wants temporary reforms conceded by unions when the pandemic struck to be made permanent.
