Failure to agree a flat-rate pay increase of 50 cent an hour in the current round of pay talks will leave thousands of workers struggling to make ends meet for the next 18 months, according to the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP).
SVP has joined with 10 other organisations in a national campaign entitled Closing the Gap on Pay which aims to get an extra €20 a week - 50 cent an hour - into the pockets of workers living below the poverty line.
The charity said pay is at the top of the agenda at the Sustaining Progress talks and the issue could be agreed by this weekend. It added that the needs of the low paid should be a top priority when "crunch" decisions are being made.
SVP vice-president Prof John Monaghan said the fastest growing group of people seeking help from the SVP are those in work but on low incomes.
"In 2002, the society overall increased its spending by 14 per cent. The single biggest expenditure increase for the society was helping with fuel and electricity bills. Those on low income and social welfare are disproportionately affected by inflation and so-called 'stealth taxes' which do not take into account people's ability to pay.
"The flat rate increase would give workers a guaranteed income and would help protect their incomes against these factors," Prof Monaghan said.
He said CSO figures in March showed that health costs increased last year by 6.4 per cent with communications up by 5 per cent and education costing an extra 5.9 per cent.
"Health, education, electricity - these are not luxuries which can be dispensed with if the price is too high. They are essential services. Such increases have a disproportionate effect on people on low incomes," Prof Monaghan continued.
"The flat rate pay increase that is being advocated will introduce an element of social justice into Sustaining Progress. By allowing workers to earn an adequate income, we will be going some way to
tackling the scandal of child poverty which is most prevalent in low-income households. Tragically Ireland is the worst EU country for the gap between the rich and poor."