Congress wants higher minimum wage
by Róisín McKane
 
In its pre-budget submission, ICTU said an increase in the national minimum wage would correspond with the plans to introduce the living wage within the proposed timeline.
In its pre-budget submission, ICTU said an increase in the national minimum wage would correspond with the plans to introduce the living wage within the proposed timeline.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has called on the Government to increase the national minimum wage from €10.50 to €12 per hour in this month’s budget.

 

ICTU’s private sector committee said that this hourly increase would provide a significant boost to workers’ living standards and enhance the sales revenue of businesses reliant upon their purchasing power.

 

It added that anything less would result in low-paid workers suffering substantial real cuts in their living standards.

 

Earlier this year, the Government announced proposals to start introducing a living wage for all employees from 2023. It said the living wage, which would be significantly higher than the current legal minimum, would replace the national minimum wage over four years.

 

The living wage, calculated by a technical group made up of trade unions, economists, charities, and social justice campaigners, is the net wage needed to cover all the costs of living. It is currently set at €12.90 an hour, compared to a €10.50 minimum wage.

 

In its pre-budget submission, ICTU said an increase in the national minimum wage would correspond with the plans to introduce the living wage within the proposed timeline.

 

“An increase to €12 per hour would also help ensure that the Government reaches its target of increasing the minimum wage to the living wage within a reasonable time frame,” it said.

 

Congress also emphasised the benefit of increasing the minimum wage during a time of high inflation and a cost-of-living crisis. “One of the most effective anti-inflation tools the Government can employ in the upcoming budget is to increase the incomes of those in the lowest-paid jobs in the economy,” it said.

 

Read ICTU’s Laura Bambrick piece on why the minimum wage must change for workers under 20.

 

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