The Government is considering plans for “social dialogue” with trade unions and employers aimed at reaching an agreement on issues such as wage increases and pensions.

Highly placed sources said the issue had been discussed by senior Ministers over the last week or so as one that the Coalition might have to examine, but they had not been prescriptive.

Government sources have ruled out any return to the system of social partnership which involved the Government, unions, employers and other groups representing farmers, social justice campaigners and environmental activists negotiating overarching deals encompassing virtually all aspects of economic and social policy.

“There won’t be multitudinous sectional interests,” said one Coalition source.

Social partnership’s end

Social partnership, which had been in place since the 1980s, collapsed following the then government’s decision to unilaterally cut public service pay at the end of 2009.

Sources suggested that any such talks would deal only with issues such as wages and pensions as well as possibly welfare.

The Government is already committed to holding talks with public service trade unions on rolling back financial emergency legislation that has been put in place over recent years to allow for pay cuts and pension changes.

It is expected that these talks, likely to start in May after the union conference season, will centre on reversing in full or in part the pension levy introduced by the Fianna Fáil-Green Party administration in 2009. This on average cut public servants’ earnings by 7 per cent.

Pressures are growing in the private sector where, during the recession, wages in most cases remained static rather than being reduced.

Pay rises averaging about 2 per cent have been introduced in many parts of the manufacturing and retail sectors over the last year.

Tánaiste Joan Burton said in an interview last year that the time might be right for the Government to consider having a social dialogue as an employer, together with employment organisations and trade unions.

“While we don’t comment on Cabinet discussions, Ministers do agree on the need for more dialogue with all sectors of society on the steps needed to secure the recovery and deliver full employment,” said a Government spokesman last night.