Ged Nash says trend for increase in wages is set to continue

The trend for pay increases in many parts of the economy is expected to continue, the Minister for Business and Employment Ged Nash has said.

He said appropriate and affordable wage rises would undoubtedly have a beneficial impact on domestic demand.

Speaking at an industrial relations conference in UCD on Thursday he said a recent survey by employers’ group Ibec had indicated that 57 per cent of companies planned to increase basic pay this year with the median rise set to be about 2 percent.

However he said other studies had suggested that the level of increases could be higher.

The Minister suggested that in some parts of the economy pay negotiations may move from being carried out an individual company-by-company basis to a sectoral level.

“I have noted (Ibec chief executive) Danny McCoy’s recent statement, that enterprise level bargaining will remain the norm over the coming years.”

"I have noted too that employers in some sectors are reluctant to engage with employee representatives within our carefully constructed, voluntarist, Joint Labour Committee industrial relations machinery.

“However, as wage increases and demands for wage increases move through and across sectors that are performing well, a view may well emerge, as has happened in some sectors already, that a broad-based sectoral approach will better suit employers and employees.”

Mr Nash again stated that he did not see a return to “old -style social partnership” but said there was “a clear role for social dialogue between Government, employers and trade unions to discuss how we can continue to get people back to work, to grow the economy and to share the benefits”.

He backed the recent proposals put forward by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin for the establishment later this of year of a forum on issues such as pay, taxation and the services that can be afforded.

He said such a forum would provide a space where ideas on such matters could be “stress tested”.

“I believe it makes sense to get the views of the key actors in this space when developing policy.”