The Politics of Economic Performance, and the Trade Union Movement, 1970-1982

Abstract

Here we argue that the relationship between the main Irish political parties and the trade unions, in the 1970s, was largely based upon political imperatives, with an economic subtext. The absence of strong ideological difference between the two largest Irish political parties meant they were willing to deal with the trade union moment in a somewhat similar fashion. At the start of the 1970s, the Fianna Fail government prodded the ICTU into a “voluntary” national wage agreement. This agreement was regarded as a means of stabilising the economy, attracting foreign investment, and improving Fianna Fail’s image with the electorate. While the governments throughout this period did adopt certain trade union policies as public policy, this was only done when it suited the administration. The objective was never to create a Scandinavian style corporatist state. All agreements with the ICTU, whether conducted under the auspices of the Fianna Fail, or coalition, government, had the same ultimate objective – economic progress to ensure political success. When this objective could no longer be satisfied the unions found themselves removed from the corridors of power. Introduction In 1979, the then 29 year old Fianna Fail backbencher, Charlie McCreevy, at the beginning of his long and often controversial career, noted that the: “the way in which the 1973 General Election was conducted, with both parties putting up their ideas on what they would do, led me to feel that in future elections there would be more of putting up the best goodies and seeing who would vote for them”. He went on to say that in the 1977 election, when both parties brought out their policies, he reached a different conclusion. Declaring that the document Fianna Fail placed before the electorate was well researched and caught their attention, he nevertheless noted that “our victory at that time gave us to understand that, whereas we may have won on 16