'Ireland needs a pay rise' - Labour calls for wage hikes to ease cost of living crisis

Wage increases must be part of solutions to combat the spiralling cost of living, the Labour party has said. 

The party's finance spokesperson, Ged Nash TD, spoke today (Wednesday April 6) and called for the government to "take a lead" on the issue. 

He said, "Coming out of this pandemic, people are demanding a new and better deal in work. Nowhere is this more urgent than the issue of low pay. Ireland is a low wage Republic – one of the worst in the EU – with hundreds of thousands working on precarious contracts. This obscenity needs to stop.

"[The government] can start by unequivocally backing calls for pay increases across the economy and introduce a living wage for all public sector workers and those providing services for the public sector. 

According to Deputy Nash, rising levels of inflation and fuel costs are "unsustainable" and will lead more people into poverty. 

He said, "The reality is that inflation is being driven by energy and transport costs and wage increases will not push them higher because they are set by global markets outside the direct control of the State. Over the last year inflation rose by over 5%. Energy and petrol costs rose by 30%. This is unsustainable. It will only lead to more people running to stand still and ending up in poverty throughout the country.

"Over one in five workers in Ireland are low paid. Ireland needs a pay rise. We know increases in take home pay, especially for those who are experiencing the sharp end of rising energy and food prices, can do the heavy lifting to protect people from spiralling inflation." 

The deputy also called on the Low Pay Commission to heed calls for an "immediate increase to the minimum wage". 

He said, "Increasing wages is just one way to help get us through this crisis but we need it be official government policy to make it work." 

The minimum wage in Ireland was previously raised to €10.50 in January 2022 - an overall increase of €1.65 since 2016 - according to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.