Mind the gap- national and local partnership in the Irish public sector

This article uses case study data from a major Irish city council to investigate and explain public sector worker attitudes towards social partnership at local and national level. It is argued that the more sceptical attitudes to workplace partnership reflect structural differences between local and national arrangements, which have enabled public sector employers to use ‘social partnership’ as a constraint in the implementation process of a pre-determined public sector reform agenda. ♣ Dr. Michael Doherty is a lecturer in law in the School of Law and Government, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland. Email:[email protected]. Dr. Roland Erne is a lecturer of comparative and international employment relations in the UCD Business School, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. Email: [email protected]