The minimum wage will be restored to its previous level and employers will have their social insurance contributions reduced under the revised terms of Ireland’s finance deal with the European Union, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The € 1 or 11.6% cut to the minimum wage will be reversed, taking the rate back up to € 8.65 an hour, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan confirmed. This will be offset by a 50% reduction in the amount of social insurance employers must pay on wages up to the level of the minimum wage. Mr Noonan described the move as the “quid pro quo” for the reversal of the minimum wage cut. It is hoped the legislation will be in place by the summer (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 January 2011).
English: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0416/1224294802972.html
http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0413/economy.html
This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. 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 2011.