| dc.description | The negotiations on a new national Agreement were formally launched on 9 November, 1999. The National Economic and Social Council report, Opportunities, Challenges and Capacities for Choice, provided a background for the negotiations, which were wide-ranging and intensive. The parties to the negotiations included the Government, employers, trade unions, farmers and the community and voluntary sector as follows: Irish Business and Employers’ Confederation (IBEC), Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), Construction Industry Federation (CIF), Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA), Irish Co-Operative Organisation Society Ltd. (ICOS), Macra na Feirme, Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU), Congress Centres for the Unemployed, The Community Platform1, Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI), National Womens’ Council of Ireland (NWCI), National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, Protestant Aid, Small Firms’ Association (SFA), Irish Exporters’ Association (IEA), Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC) and Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI).
The negotiations have resulted in an Agreement between all the parties to the negotiations over five Operational Frameworks as set out in this Programme for Prosperity and Fairness | en |
