Bertie Ahern’s Speech to ICTU Conference, Supports EU Charter on Fundamental Rights

It looks like the Greens have a victory of sorts to show members on the campaign trail, this morning in his speech Bertie outlined the government position on the Charter of Fundamental Rights as “we were happy with it in 2004 and we are happy with it in 2007″. It seems the issues are both the legal status of the charter, which Dublin want to remain unchanged from what was agreed in 2004 and also the impact of any British opt-out of the charter. The were ‘prudently’ reserving the right to analyse the implications of any UK opt-out in order to determine their best option in this regard.

That can be read any way one likes, in typical Bertie fashion, but it does seem more positive than negative on the Charter though there is significant wriggle room should it be needed. Perhaps there was a little posturing here allowing victories to be had by unions and Greens in a piece of his own management of the issues? The speech also had a few other very notable points in light of the economic data which emerged over the past couple of days. With ESRI warnings, UCD Economic forecasts on property market crashes the exchequer’s own bad returns, the Taoiseach went on to outline exactly how tought the times ahead would be.

The Taoiseach was fairly strident on inflation, he asserted that “we all accept that increases in inflation above expected levels derives from interest rates and fuel costs”. As a result he hinted that there will not be wage increases in place to deal with the problem rather a package of credits and reliefs on interest payments and, presumably, fuel charges/costs. This seems prudent however there is no significant mention of the government side of the inflation battle other than a commitment to operate with the anti-inflation group to address factors under their control. This is quite vague and suggests a hard line will be taken on keeping the government projects going especially the NDP. This is not necessarily a bad thing if it is managed in the correct way since we are desperate for improved social infrastructure as well as hard infrastructure however should things continue to get worse in the government coffers, there may be heated debate on the nature of borrowing in all this equation.

There was talk of employment standards in terms of agency workers and migrant workers rights. This is something the ICTU have been interested in for a long time and something that affects all of us, since the HSE has a large problem with expensive agency work as well as other public service providers thanks to the cap on public sector hiring. This will be addressed by undertaking an national employment survey. The survey will seek to analyse the labour market in its entirety and inform policy. It is welcome from the point of view of a decent audit of the policy area but again there is little to hang your hat on.

There is recommitment to continued learning in the form of facilitating part-time and evening third level study among adults for free as well as means-tested free fees scheme for those with work family commitments to return to college. The focus on infrastructure and third level is very interesting in terms of competitiveness as he hints at changes in work practice are required to move forward on this front. Quite what that entails is unclear but he hints that it revolves around the OECD review of public sector management and delivery. All in all it may be hard reading but ICTU and others should not shy away from tough calls in this area, he says. The other interesting thing is that on global competitiveness it is not sufficient to have roads and education, one needs direction. This is a post for another day (probably tomorrow).

So what does it all mean? Firstly the speech is a piece of Bert speak designed to be open to interpretation depending on your position on the economy and public sector. The mood that one might read off it from a government point of view is that tough decisions lay ahead in order to get the economy back on an even keel (thanks to the reliance on a building sector which couldn’t sustain long term growth and slow consumer spending once the SSIA money runs out). This may bode ill for union hopes of wage increases but that is countered with targetted measures on interest relief. Ahern seems to commit to the NDP, as Cowen did during the election, as the core of government spending and focus, with other promises and commitments coming on stream as necessitated and affordable.

It seems to suggest that things may not be as harsh as the first couple of years under McCreevy but they may turn a little sour. Then again if one is positive on the economy there is a completely different reading to be had on it. Even on the Charter of Fundamental Rights, there is wiggle room enough to back out of supporting it. That seems to sum up his position on the economy, nothing is off the table as such.