Coalition unease over JLC pay reform

TENSIONS between the Coalition partners over the reform of wage agreements are likely to continue after Labour warned that measures must be taken to protect lower-paid workers.

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton yesterday announced a shake up of the Joint Labour Committee (JLC) agreements, which is likely to see a cut in pay for thousands of workers and the slashing of premium rates for working on Sundays.

Wage agreements in sectors such as retail, restaurants and hotels are to be revised using a new set of criteria, including unemployment rates, competitiveness and wage trends in the country’s major trading partners abroad.