Sir, – Stephen Collins ("Clear progress made on jobs but effort must be kept up," Opinion, February 8th) stated, "pay rates in Ireland are still high even by European standards". This is not true. According to the EU Commission's Eurostat (2011), hourly Irish labour costs in the business economy – essentially, the private sector – are 14 per cent below the average of other EU15 (the first 15 EU member countries). When compared to our peer group, other small open economies such as Austria, Belgium and Finland, Irish labour costs are 30 per cent below average. This is confirmed by the national accounts of EU15 countries which shows that Irish hourly employee compensation is similarly well below average.
The fact is that Irish workers in the business economy are low-paid compared to most other EU15 countries. If there is to be a debate overpay, let’s at least have one grounded in fact. After years of stagnating wages it is clear that Irish workers need a pay increase. If there is to be a recovery in the economy that everyone shares in, then that recovery will have to be wage-led. – Yours, etc,
JIMMY KELLY,
Regional Secretary,
Unite the Union,
Merrion Square,
Dublin 2.