Fianna Fáil, the Trade Union Movement and the Politics of Macroeconomic Crises, 1970–82

Abstract

This article argues that the relationship between Fianna Fáil and the trade unions throughout in the 1970s was largely based upon political imperatives, with an economic subtext. At the start of the 1970s, the Fianna Fáil government prodded the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) into a ‘voluntary’ national wage agreement. This agreement was regarded as a means of stabilising the economy, attracting foreign investment, and improving Fianna Fáil’s image with the electorate. While governments throughout this period did adopt certain trade union policies as public policy, this was only done when it suited the administration. Fianna Fáil’s objective was never to create a Scandinavian style corporatist state. All agreements with ICTU 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.

Notes

1. Dáil Debates, 1 March 1979, Vol. 312, col. 672.

2. Ibid., at col. 673.

3. Government Budget, 1970, Official Stationery Office.

4. National Archives of Ireland (NAI), Department of Finance (DF), 2003/20/51 Statutory Pay Pause, 3 October 1970.

5. NAI, DF, 2003/20/51, Memorandum for the Government – Current Income Position, 9 October 1970.

6. NAI, DF, 2003/20/51, Address by Joseph Brennan TD, Minister for Labour – Annual General Meeting of the College of Industrial Relations, Dublin, 3 March 1970.

7. NAI, Department of Labour (DL), 2001/50/309, Fogarty to Brennan, 2 March 1970.

8. NAI, DL, 2001/50/309, comment on We Can Stop Rising Prices, 12 March 1970.

9. Dáil Debates, 28 July 1970, Vol. 248, col. 2163.

10. NAI, DL, 2001/50/309, Private Secretary Memorandum, 10 July 1970.

11. NAI Department of the Taoiseach, S17529, Letter from the Department of the Taoiseach, 13 October 1970.

12. NAI, DL, 2003/20/51, Press Release, 16 October 1970.

13. Dáil Debates, 28 October 1970, Vol. 249, col. 54.

14. Dáil Debates, 28 October 1970, Vol. 249, col. 66.

15. NAI, DF, 2005/16/283, S. O’Conail, Department of Finance to Heads of Departments, 4 November 1970.

16. NA, DF, 2003/20/51, Memorandum for the Government – Current Income Position, 9 October 1970.

17. Presidential Address by An Taoiseach Mr. Jack Lynch, TD, To Fianna Fáil Ard Feish, Mansion House, Dublin, 28 January 1969.

18. Annual Report, Irish Congress of Trade Unions (AR, ICTU), 1970.

19. AR, ICTU, 1969.

20. Dáil Debates, 5 March 1969, Vol. 238, col. 2348.

21. AR, ICTU, 1970.

22. AR, ICTU, 1971.

23. AR, ICTU, 1971.

24. Dáil Debates, 24 November 1971, Vol. 257, cols. 217–228.

25. Seanad Debates, 5 July 1978, Vol. 89, col. 1306.

26. Central Bank of Ireland, Annual Report, 1981, p. 15.

27. Ibid., 1982, p. 16.

28. Dáil Debates, 27 February 1980, Vol. 318, col. 720.

29. Ibid., col. 722.

30. AR, ICTU, 1980 and 1981.

31. AR, ICTU, 1980, p. 22.

32. Government Budget, 1982, Official Stationery Office.

33. The Way Forward, 1982, Fianna Fáil.

34. Central Statistics Office, Statistical Abstract of Ireland, 1982–1985, p. 298.

35. Policy of Economic Recovery, 1982, Fine Gael.

36. AR, ICTU, 1983, 1984, and 1985.

37. AR, ICTU, 1980.

38. Ibid.

39. AR, ICTU, 1981.

40. AR, ICTU, 1980.

41. AR, ICTU, 1981.

42. AR, ICTU, 1982.

43. Government Budget, 1982, Official Stationery Office.

44. AR, ICTU, 1982.

45. Ibid.

46. AR, ICTU, 1983.