Retailers’ body says calls for pay rises are ‘highly irresponsible’

An umbrella body for more than 1,000 retailers has said union calls for pay rises across the industry are “highly irresponsible” when many are struggling to keep their doors open.

Last week, Mandate said a 2% increase secured for its members in Tesco was “a benchmark for other retail employers in Ireland”.

A few days later the union, which represents 45,000 retail and bar workers, revealed it had secured more than €20m in pay increases for its members in only the last two years.