The government has announced to introduce legislation permitting employers who can prove financial difficulty to opt out of the minimum wages set by Registered Employment Agreements (REAs) and Employment Regulation Orders (EROs). Unlike the National Minimum Wage Act of 2000, the REA and ERO systems –-covering low-wage sectors like agriculture; hotel and catering trade; retail; security, and construction-- lack such an inability-to-pay provision. The ICTU union confederation and its largest affiliate, SIPTU, have criticized the plan. ICTU has accused the government of implementing an agenda to “drive down wages across all sectors”, while SIPTU president Jack O’Connor claimed the government was intent on “crucifying the lowest paid in the country.”
English:
http://irishexaminer.com/ireland/siptu-inability-to-pay-law-will-lead-to-
...;
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/government-to-allow-bosses-to-undercut- ...
For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2009. All rights reserved. The ETUI is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. The ETUI is financially supported by the European Community. The European Community is not responsible for any use made of the information contained in this news section.