Siptu president Jack O’Connor has said his union is engaged in a major drive for pay increases for members across the private sector in a move to recover ground lost during the economic crisis.
Speaking at the annual Jim Larkin commemoration in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin on Sunday, he also maintained that there was a "compelling case" for alleviating the tax burden on lower to middle income families through measures such as refundable child tax credits or lower Universal Social Charges.
However, he said there was no justification for calls made by some employer organisations for tax cuts for high income groups.
'Major push'
"We must apply ourselves as Larkin did in his day to the immediate task of recovering ground which has been temporarily lost over the crisis years as well as defending occupational pension schemes," he said. "That is why we are engaged in a major push to win pay increases across the private sector. We know that there is space to do it without endangering job creation, because unit labour costs have fallen significantly vis-a-vis our major trading partners due to wage stagnation and increased productivity over the last five years. Indeed, far from damaging job prospects the best way to stimulate domestic demand, which accounts for three-quarters of the economy, is by growing consumption. And the best way to do this is by increasing pay and purchasing power", Mr O'Connor said.
