Minister for Enterprise Richard Bruton has said the Government will reverse the cut in the national minimum wage in a revised deal with the EU-IMF to be published on Friday.
The Minister said in return there may be changes to existing registered employment agreements, which give workers in low-paid sectors various rights, including higher pay on Sundays and bank holidays.
Mr Bruton told reporters the measures, which would require legislation, had the backing of the IMF. He insisted the new laws would improve competitiveness in the economy:
He said the Government plans to introduce legislation to restore the minimum wage from €7.65 per hour to €8.65 per hour by the summer.
Mr Bruton said the IMF-EU troika recognised that restoring the higher minimum wage rates while targeting Joint Labour Committee (JLC) agreements was “a very sensible way to proceed”.
Asked about his discussions with the EU-IMF mission, he said it had taken “a very keen interest in our proposals to develop flexibilities in the JLC and statutory wage systems.
“They want to see a vigorous labour market. They recognise as we do that there are some archaic measures in place and we need to modernise that,” he said, adding there were "antiquated requirements" in the State's wages regime.
The Government and the IMF, European Commission and ECB - the troika of international bodies funding the €85 billion rescue package for Ireland - will publish a revised Memorandum of Understanding on Friday.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin yesterday met senior officials from the joint EU-IMF mission at the Department of Finance.
The meeting focused on discussing a draft of the revised memo, prepared by troika officials following a week of research and discussions.
Under the terms of the deal it agreed with the troika, the previous government committed itself to reducing the minimum wage by €1 an hour, introducing measures to reduce the risk of long-term unemployment and initiating an independent review of registered employment agreements and employment rights orders.
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dáil this morning the Government does not intend to raise taxes as part of a new job creation package to be unveiled next month.
During Leaders’ Questions this morning, Mr Kenny said the move would be "revenue neutral". He said was now being referred to as a “jobs initiative” because some people “seemed to get the view that this would be a sort of end of year budget” and there had been a lot of commentary about increased charges and taxes.
Mr Kenny said the initiative would “promote confidence to provide opportunities for people to go to work and for employers to be able to get credit and invest in their business and to simulate the Irish national economy”.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin said the Taoiseach seemed to be preparing for “another U-turn” on “the much hyped but now hidden jobs budget”.
He asked: “Is it a budget, is it a supplementary budget, an initiative, an economic stimulus or simply a revenue neutral press release?”
The Taoiseach retorted by saying Fianna Fáil-led governments lost 250,000 jobs during their last terms in office.
Mr Kenny said the move was an attempt to tackle unemployment and create jobs.
He accused Mr Martin of trying “to have a row” about semantics, which was unhelpful when 440,000 people were out of work and the unemployment rate was 14 per cent.
“The person who gets a job as a plumber or a plasterer or a chippie or whatever it is is not going to be worried whether it’s a budget or a jobs initiative. He or she is going to be proud and privileged to have the dignity of having a job and being able to contribute to our society.”
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said today he had no doubt that the revised plan would mean more cuts and austerity. Ireland, he added, could not afford the EU-IMF deal.