Pay increases: Union claims employers are hypocritical

PUBLIC service union IMPACT yesterday accused employers of double standards by demanding below inflation pay increases for ordinary workers while they award themselves big increases.

On the first day of the union’s biennial delegate conference in Kilkenny, union president Finbarr O’Driscoll said business leaders must accept the right of ordinary workers to demand wage increases that match inflation in the pay talks.

“We need to see some evidence that employers still see partnership as a two-way street, where all the parties make gains and sacrifices,” he said.