Ibec, the organisation that represents Irish business, has hit out at the Government’s delay in implementing public sector pension reform.

Pressure is continuing to mount on the Government today regarding pay increments for public sector workers.

A Government’s move to renegotiate the Croke Park deal remained mired in confusion last night.

One in three workers can expect a raise this year, two in three can expect a pay freeze, while 4% will endure pay cuts, a survey of employers indicates.

Employers' group IBEC has today said the cost of shifting additional statutory sick-pay liabilities on to employers would equate to the cost of employing 2,500 people.

Plans to move the pension age to 68 by 2028 should be postponed, the trade union umbrella group ICTU has said.

Employers' group IBEC today said workplaces are not prepared for changes to State pension age rules, which will see the State pension age increase from 65 to 66 in 2014.

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton has defended moves to force employers to pay for workers’ sick leave, saying they stand to gain most from the new measures.

Employers and trade unions have clashed over whether or not the abolition of wage-setting mechanisms through the courts has led to an increase in the number of workers hired by businesses.

News that 200 jobs are to be created by expansion of the pharmaceutical giant Allergan, which already employs 900 people in Ireland, is to be warmly welcomed, especially in the midst of the current economic gloom.

Seven out of 10 firms plan to freeze or cut pay rates this year, it emerged today.

NINE out of ten workers can expect a pay freeze or a slight reduction in pay this year, according to the latest IBEC pay survey.

As the cost of the public service comes under increasing scrutiny, the reforms brought by the Croke Park Agreement may not be enough. The groups involved must work quickly or they will have to consider alternative methods to improve the sector, writes Kyran FitzGerald

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton has today published legislation to implement reforms to wage setting mechanisms.

EMPLOYERS will no longer receive any relief on contributions made by employees into their pensions — at an annual cost of €90 million to employers.

Irish companies are unlikely to raise or unfreeze salaries next year, but are likely to recruit more people, according to the latest IBEC pay survey.

ALMOST 70% of companies are set to reduce or at least freeze staff pay rates next year, according to research from employers’ representative, IBEC.

NINE in ten workers are willing to work beyond their contracted requirements to help the company they work for succeed, according to a new survey.

IRELAND’s creaking pensions sector has come in for further criticism, with the head of the Pension Funds Association warning that further takes from the sector, in the upcoming budget, could ultimately kill off any long-term savings culture here.

UP TO 9,400 jobs could be lost if the EU agency worker directive is implemented in its current form, a leading economist has claimed.

The fast-food sector has taken on the joint labour committee system and won.

EMPLOYERS are pushing to dismantle the structure that regulates overtime and Sunday working for lower-paid workers in the catering, hotel and construction industry.

IBEC has said that the planned disruption from next week by Aer Lingus pilots is "a clear example of opportunism of the worst kind" by members of the pilots union IALPA.

A REVIEW of the legally binding agreements which set the wages for more than 200,000 workers has concluded that the current system should be maintained to protect the employment standards of vulnerable workers.

MOST companies expect staff to save less for their retirement because of recent tax changes.

EMPLOYERS should not entertain requests for pay increases this year, according to IBEC.

IBEC, the group that represents Irish business, has published a survey which shows pay freezes are the norm in most companies this year.

The Government has announced the establishment of an independent review of statutory wage setting mechanisms known as Employment Regulation Orders (ERO) and Registered Employment Agreements (REA).

AER LINGUS management and cabin crew meet under the mediation of IBEC and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions today for talks which could finally draw an end to the rostering dispute which has seen dozens of flights grounded.

IBEC, the group that represents Irish business, has said the Government's move to reduce the national minimum wage is necessary to support economic recovery and create employment.

IBEC, the group that represents Irish business, today called for the immediate halt of a January pay increase of 1.25% in the retail grocery sector, saying it was seeking an urgent meeting of the Retail Grocery Joint Labour Committee on the issue. IBEC said that the pay award should be put on hold in light of a recently announced review of the wage procedures that give rise to such increases.

IBEC, the employer lobby group, said labour market regulation “has an enormous effect on competitiveness”.

THE uphill battle to save billions of euro through public service reform is starkly illustrated by lower paid civil servants’ refusal to even give up the half-hour they are given each week to bank their pay cheques.

The largest employers' group in the country is warning workers not to expect pay rises for the next three years.

IRISH workers struggling to cope with savage cutbacks, pay freezes and rising taxes have been told there is no opportunity of any salary increases until at least 2013.

Business lobby group IBEC has called for an urgent review of Irish pension rules, claiming that many defined-benefit pension schemes risk closure because they cannot meet the minimum state requirements.

EMPLOYERS’ group IBEC has called for an urgent review of pension rules and has warned of the death of many defined benefit schemes if funding standards – put in place by the Pensions Board – are not altered.

THERE is no evidence to suggest that cutting the minimum wage will either save jobs or boost the economy, a cross-party group of politicians has been told.

The Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs will consider the EU Working Time Directive today, which limits the number of hours an employee can work to 48 a week.

IBEC has claimed any concession by the Government to mandatory trade union recognition will not only be unconstitutional but will also threaten the creation of thousands of jobs.

Umbrella trade union group Congress today accused influential employers’ body Ibec of scaremongering after it warned jobs would be lost if firms are forced to recognise unions.