Opportunity to achieve equity lost - INTO Secretary [Donegal Democrat]
- Published: 05 February 2009
Source: Donegal Democrat
By:Paddy Walsh
The Irish National Teachers' Organisation has expressed regret that sufficient progress could not be made within the social partnership talks to achieve an outcome that would protect lower to middle income groups in the time frame available.
"An opportunity to achieve fairness and equity in Irish society was lost," said John Carr general secretary of the primary teachers' union. "As a result public servants are now to pick up the tab."
He said sufficient progress had not been made on issues such as pensions, taxation and the engagement of the private sector to enable a deal to be reached. He accused the employers group IBEC of not engaging in meaningful talks and said the construction industry representative body the CIF was out of the loop.
Mr Carr said hopes of a fair solution to the country's economic difficulties in which all sectors would share the burden of economic recovery had evaporated. Nothing had been done so far to ensure that tax dodgers and tax exiles were targeted. "Price controls to prevent rip off merchants hiking up prices have not been put in place. Tax breaks and tax loopholes remain in place. There has been no reform of TDs salaries and expenses. Executive remuneration remains untouched. Private sector workers like doctors, dentists and hairdressers are free to charge what they like."
The INTO general secretary pointed out that during the social partnership talks there was real engagement by public service unions. "But it was impossible to reach an agreement without tackling all of the other issues as well."
