Employers to seek wage restraint in new pay talks
Employers have reportedly abandoned their hopes for a nationwide pay freeze and are instead expected to call for minimal wage rises in the new round of pay talks due to begin next week.
Reports this morning said IBEC members wanted to limit any increase to a level well below 2% per annum in order to boost competitiveness and limit business costs.
This is significantly lower than the 4.8% annualised increase included in the first half of the Sustaining Progress agreement.
Trade unions are expected to resist efforts to limit future pay rises and will most likely refer to recent studies showing that wages and employment costs in Ireland lag behind those in most of the country's trading partners.
