Fianna Fáil, the trade union movement and the politics of macroeconomic crises, 1970–82

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.