Marie Sherlock (Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Bambrick and Mr. Berney for being here for this important discussion. When we talk about low pay, there is an obvious focus on the national minimum wage but it is not the only tool to address low pay. I am conscious that while some 7% or 8% of people are on the national minimum wage, between one fifth and one quarter of all workers in the economy are classified as being low paid. As this meeting is taking place, there is a large crowd in the Dáil Gallery watching the Labour Party motion on section 39, section 56 and section 10 workers and community employment scheme workers and the appalling situation they have found themselves in, whereby they have not seen a pay increase in 14 years. I would like to hear the views of the ICTU witnesses on this sizeable group of workers, many of whom are low paid, who are providing a vital service to the State in the health, disability and other sectors and who have not seen any sort of pay improvement for well over a decade.

Does ICTU have strong views about how we ultimately crack that nut and ensure those workers are better paid because they form a large part of the low paid in this country?