‘Pay restraint a must to protect competitiveness’

The Irish Exporters’ Association has called for restraint in public sector pay rises and accused the Government of lacking the courage to tackle the issue in the proper manner.

The association opposes flat-wage increases and has called for a reward-based structure based on accountability. It says it is “bitterly disappointed” the Government has not had the courage to implement this.

Such a reward-based system would limit the overall cost to the exchequer and greatly increase productivity, the representative body claims in its pre-budget submission.