Early last week, Blair Horan of the public service union, the CPSU, and a member of the ICTU executive, said he was "shocked" to discover that, in a last-minute manoeuvre in discussions on the EU treaty, Ahern had reserved the right of the Irish government to follow Britain and opt out of the charter.

The charter, which also includes the right to life and the presumption of innocence, is separate from the proposed 'reform treaty' but will have legal effect through it.

Ahern later told the D�il that the fact that the charter is separate from the treaty "does not make a damn bit of difference" and that he actually favoured the separation as the charter was making the treaty "enormously bulky".

At a meeting last Wednesday with ICTU leader Dave Begg, Ahern assured him that the only reason Ireland sought the right to reserve its position on the charter was that he was "suspicious" of what the UK was doing seeking an opt-out so late on Friday 22 June when talks on the treaty were almost concluded.

Ahern explained to Begg that Ireland needed to "closely examine" the UK document to see if it had any implications for Ireland. Ahern assured Begg that Ireland supported the charter and was not seeking an opt-out but was covering its options.

Blair Horan said that the following day, the newly appointed Minister for European Affairs, Dick Roche, assured him that the government's support for the charter was "unequivocal".

In a sharp letter to Ahern the previous week, Begg had warned Ahern that if, as reported, Ireland was opposing a reference in the treaty to 'social Europe', this would "make it very difficult for the labour movement to continue its support for the European project".

But Ahern's about-turn on the charter has satisfied the unions and, bar some disquiet about inflation eating into wages, the taoiseach is set to lay the foundations for another national pay deal towards the end of the year.