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

The Taoiseach and his Tánaiste embarrassed themselves yesterday on the issue of the cost of living. Incredibly, the Tánaiste cited a 3% increase in the minimum wage as an example of the Government protecting workers from the ravages of inflation. How can the Tánaiste make such a comment when he knows lower-paid workers are the ones hit hardest by inflation and that inflation is increasing at nearly twice the rate that the minimum wage increased? At a time when Germany is increasing its minimum wage to €12 an hour, the Taoiseach’s Government has effectively cut the wages of the lowest-paid workers in this country. Shame on you, Taoiseach.

He also voiced opposition to wage increases in line with inflation here yesterday. He tried to deny it, but he did. Instead, he said that workers would need to be compensated by an increase in the social wage. Does the Taoiseach expect working people to have any confidence in his words when he decided to compensate them for about 15% of their increased energy bills, while leaving them to dig deep for the remaining 85%? The Taoiseach’s words might be taken a bit more seriously if he were to introduce free childcare for all, legislate to cut rents, bring in free public transport or abolish fees for third level. Anything less than measures such as these and the Taoiseach’s comments about the Vincentian model will be seen merely as waffle and guff.

Workers at Glen Dimplex in Northern Ireland have won a 13.5% pay increase. Unite the Union has won 25 pay increases at, or above, the rate of inflation in Northern Ireland and Britain. How did it do that? How did it successfully defend workers' living standards? It was not by politely asking employers maybe to grant pay increases, as the Tánaiste did yesterday. The union did it by organising, by balloting for industrial action and by taking industrial action where necessary. That is the example which must be followed here now. The bosses can well afford it.

Let us talk about profit inflation. The Musgrave Group made pre-tax profits of €98 million in 2020, while Facebook made after-tax profits of €623 million. I could quote hundreds more examples like that to the Taoiseach, if I had the time. A rise in wages leads to a cut in profits and not to a rise in prices, as the Taoiseach falsely implied here yesterday. Within one month, therefore, will the Taoiseach introduce an emergency package of measures to compensate ordinary people fully for inflation? Will he revisit the question of the minimum wage now that inflation is double the rate of the increase? Will he also voice support for workers submitting pay claims which, at the very least, match the rate of inflation?

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