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The Restaurant Association of Ireland has called for the abolishment of joint labour committees and a reduction in the minimum wage, as its annual conference gets under way today in Dublin.

According to chief executive Adrian Cummins, the current joint labour committee system results in an effective minimum wage ranging from €9.32 per hour for restaurants.

"The economic situation in Ireland has changed dramatically but the JLC system has not taken this into account in any way. It is forcing restaurants, which are struggling to survive and in many cases operating at loss, to pay a premium over and above the national minimum wage.”

Ireland's joint labour committee minimum rates for the catering industry, are 54 per cent higher than in Spain and 23 per cent higher than in the UK, according to the association. It argues that the national minimum wage should be the sole statutory minimum wage in Ireland, as the jlc system imposes legally binding conditions of employment to which other economic sectors are not subject.

The Irish restaurant industry employs 64,000 people and contributes €2 billion to the Irish economy each year according to the Restaurant Association of Ireland.