Social Partnership

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Social partnership (Irish: Pairtíocht 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.