Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)

Connemara and Wexford are places I visit as well but I happened to be in Clara and we heard the Minister for Finance state on a radio programme that he would not consider cutting the minimum wage and that it was not on the agenda at that time. He said if it affected employment prospects he might revisit the issue, but he thought it was something that would be more applicable to the Labour Relations Commission. It certainly was not an issue for the Minister himself, but he has now come back and said, along with his Cabinet colleagues, that it has to be changed. A major campaign is being organised, primarily by the Mandate union and SIPTU, to put pressure on politicians to vote against it the change. A compelling argument is being put forward in that regard but we have to weigh matters up. We must examine the impact on low earners but also the impact on job creation.

Regarding low earners, I am somewhat sceptical in regard to unscrupulous employers. We know, for example, that some employers might attempt to force employees to take a pay cut against their will. That would be in breach of their current contract but some of them will try it. They will tell their employees that they can cut their hours from the roster, their job is finished and they will find some way of creating a new post. They can basically bully people, and we have to monitor that. The type of people who are likely to be bullied are not the ones who might know of the existence of the National Employment Rights Authority. Irrespective of the merits or demerits of the measure, I believe some unscrupulous employers will try to take advantage of it. That must be examined immediately. There is no point in bringing in a measure and letting it take effect without any comeback.

This measure will not come into force until the legislation is passed. Any employer attempting to take on a new employee at the new rate before the legislation comes in is also in breach of it and the person should contact the NERA immediately. It is an obscure body, however. The average worker would not be that familiar with it, although I am aware the unions make people aware of their rights.

The key aspect in acknowledging that unscrupulous employers will try to coerce and misinform employees is that the new minimum wage will apply only to new contracts. In that regard we are moving on. It is similar to what happened in the teaching sector, for example. I suppose it is an attempt to bring our cost of living down to levels-----

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