A New Departure for Social Partnership

national | politics / elections | news report Tuesday September 06, 2005 13:37 by Union Member

The Labour Movement's New (Old) Friend? Fine Gael

Agreed Statement By Fine Gael And The Labour Party

Tuesday September 6, 2005

A New Departure for Social Partnership

Issued : Monday 5 September, 2005
Social Partnership has been one of the cornerstones of Ireland ’s economic success. Since 198, our capacity as a country to resolve key economic and social issues through negotiation and joint problem solving,rather than through industrial and social conflict, has been a major competitive advantage,and has contributed to improvements in our economy and in our society.

Social Partnership has been one of the cornerstones of Ireland’s economic success. Since 1987, our capacity as a country to resolve key economic and social issues through negotiation and joint problem solving, rather than through industrial and social conflict, has been a major competitive advantage, and has contributed to improvements in our economy and in our society. In the global marketplace, a small open economy benefits greatly from a consensual approach to key strategic issues.

That approach, however, must also be agile in the face of changing circumstances and needs, both internally and externally. The Partnership model must adapt and evolve if it is to continue to contribute to Ireland’s economic success.

The forthcoming round of negotiations on a successor to Sustaining Progress will test the agility and strategic capacity of the social partners and of the process itself. There are significant outstanding challenges that must be addressed. There are significant fragilities in the Irish economy which cannot be ignored.

Equally, important failings in the partnership model must be tackled. A reformed partnership must include a strong voice for consumers, become more democratically accountable, and itself be more transparent and focused, if partnership is continue to thrive, as we believe it must.

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