Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach raised some interesting points in the previous discussion about a wage price spiral. He seemed to indicate he was against the idea of workers submitting claims for pay increases that would be in line with inflation, leaving aside the fact that he did not seem to express the same concerns when Robert Watt got a pay increase of €81,000. It is one rule for the top people and another for ordinary working people.

Let us look at the matter at hand. We are told the consumer price index is up 5.5%, and that does not include many costs, including rent. The real rate of inflation for working people is higher. It seems that what the Taoiseach is saying in reality is that workers must accept a pay cut or suck it up and not put in for higher wage increases. I think workers should put in for higher wage increases and pursue them in a vigorous fashion.

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