Social partnership (Irish: PairtÃocht sóisialta) is the term used for the tripartite, triennial national pay agreements reached in Ireland.
The process was initiated in 1987, following a period of high inflation and weak economic growth which led to increased emigration and unsustainable government borrowing and national debt. Strike and wage moderation have been important outcomes of the agreements and this has been seen as a significant contributor to the Celtic Tiger. Prior to this agreement bargaining had been on a local level since 1981; in the previous decade national employer-union deals and 'National Understandings' were the norm but came under increased pressure.
The corporatist 'social partnership' agreements are agreed between the Government, main employer groups Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) and the Construction Industry Federation) and the trade unions (members of the Irish Congress of Trades Unions); since 1997 voluntary/community organisations have taken part in the general policy discussions but not in the key wage bargaining element. The corporatist core has been a trade-off of modest wage increases in exchange for a lighter income tax burden. There are also sectoral reforms negotiated and public service pay reviews under the rubric of 'benchmarking' with private sector pay scales.
Read more about Social Partnership: Past Agreements, Towards 2016, Partnership Collapse, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words social and/or partnership:
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—Jane O’Reilly, U.S. feminist and humorist. The Girl I Left Behind, ch. 7 (1980)
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