Chambers plan for competitiveness

The president of the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland Mark Staunton has said the chambers see five key measures which must be implemented if Irish SMEs’ competitiveness and viability is to be protected.

Mark Staunton said while the chambers support the principle of a minimum wage, they believe it must operate differently.

“The minimum wage level should be reviewed upwards or downwards at the beginning of each national pay agreement having regard to economic conditions and apart from any adjustment at the beginning of each pay agreement it should be automatically indexed to move in line with the provisions of the general pay agreement rather than creating anomalies by changing at different times and rates to the rest of the workforce,” he said.