The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has released a research paper aiming to counter a wave of complaints from the business sector in relation to legislation that aims to improve working conditions.

Many of the government measures being attacked were either flagged in the Programme for Government or were temporary supports introduced to alleviate the devastating impact of COVID-19. The ICTU document sets out to be an antidote to fictions and myths that are being rolling out by employers.

In the report’s foreword, ICTU General Secretary Owen Reidy said:

“In the last number of months, we have heard a lot of rhetoric and anecdotes about the rising cost of doing business in Ireland today. In many instances much of this narrative has remained unchallenged and despite the real facts that are contained in this paper, this false perspective articulated by many business groups has become the accepted truth in many quarters.”

The chorus of criticism from business lobbyists comes at a time when the Irish government is implementing a series of measures to improve working conditions, these include a higher minimum wage, statutory sick pay, pension auto-enrolment, parental leave rights, remote working, a new public holiday, and increased social insurance.

The report points out that these reforms aim to align Ireland with Western European standards and address flaws in the labour market.

It also points out that many employers received additional support from the government due to factors like Brexit, Covid-19, the conflict in Ukraine, and rising living costs, and are now struggling to wean themselves off these subsidies. 

Employment in Ireland currently sits at historic levels with 2.71 million people in work. The report pushes back against a general culture of lament that ignores growth. In 2023, the rate of business failures stood at 27 per 10,000, while the average over the past 19 years was double that figure, at 50 per 10,000. This average encompasses the dark period of the global economic crash after 2008.

The report outlines how false threats to jobs in the low pay sector are used to shore up demands coming from business for PRSI rebates and cuts. Not surprisingly, Irish companies are getting off easy compared to their EU counterparts when it comes to paying employer PRSI, getting a sweet deal at the expense of wider society. 

"If we are to have a real debate about the state of our economy and the world of work in Ireland, where it has come from and perhaps where it is going, we need to have both sides of the labour market, the voice of business but also the voice of workers,” said Reidy.

Download the report “Challenging myths and improving working conditions in a strong economy” here.

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