ICTU General Secretary Owen Reidy has warned that the Government’s €500m tax cut for the fuel industry will be factored into pay negotiations across all sectors of the economy in the next year.
Commenting, Congress General Secretary Owen Reidy said:
“Trade unions across Ireland have taken note of events over the past week. While we are told the importance of being reasonable with pay demands, blockades and barricades have been rewarded with a €500m package of tax breaks. The Government has repeatedly indulged business interests, and shown a willingness to rely on the public purse to do so.
“We represent 800,000 workers who have seen inflation increase by around 20% over the past five years. Everyone is struggling with the cost of living crisis. We know that the first and best response to this is improved pay.
“In failing to index taxation as part of Budget 2026, in rowing back on sick pay and the minimum wage, the Government has taken from workers, and as the events of the past week have shown, has once again given in to business interests.
“There are responses to the cost of living crisis which would help. Reductions in the cost of public services, double indexation of tax in Budget 2027, hastening the move from fossil fuels to renewable energy. We will continue to make the case for progressive, substantial responses that will benefit those who need it, not just those who shout loudest.
“The Government has demonstrated, repeatedly, that the loudest lobby wins and that working people, who engage in good faith through proper structures, are rewarded with less than those who disrupt.
“A Government that can find €500m for one industry at the drop of a hat has no credible case to make for restraint at the pay talks table. The Government has set a clear precedent. Workers will remember it.”
