Congress welcomes the decision on minimum wage
20 Dec 2006
Congress has welcomed the government decision to increase the Minimum Wage to €8.65 per hour, a rise of one euro an hour.
The increase from the current rate of €7.65 is in line with the recent recommendation from the Labour Court, which heard submissions on the issue from Congress and employers' body Ibec.
Congress submitted to the Labour Court that "there was a compelling case for significant rise" in the minimum wage in order to keep pace with price rises since 2005, when it was last adjusted, and to prevent the emergence of a 'two-tier' workforce.
The wage is to increase in two phases, rising to €8.30 from 1 January, 2007 and to 8.65 from July 1, 2007.
According to Congress General Secretary, David Begg: "It appears that both the Labour Court and now the government saw the sense of the arguments put forward by Congress.
"Congress argued that the Minimum Wage was the only legally-enforceable pay rate covering the whole economy. Therefore, in any society that aspires to high standards, it is important that we set the threshold at a reasonable level to combat inequality and prevent the emergence of a two-tier workforce. This is particularly true at a time of strong inward migration.
"While the increase may not have been the precise figure we sought and is scheduled to be paid in two phases, Congress acknowledges that the rise of on euro per hour will help those on lower incomes, while adjustments announced in the Budget will ensure they are kept out of the tax net, again something Congress campaigned for.
Congress had also argued before the Labour Court that all the evidence indicated that the Minimum Wage increase of 2005 had not contributed to a growth in unemployment, as had been claimed at the time. If anything, the opposite had been the case with some 80,000 plus jobs created in 2006.