Siptu Conference: Unions’ goal is €15 per hour living wage

The goal of the trade union movement is a living wage of €15 per hour, delegates at Siptu’s biennial conference have been told.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has previously said the living wage for a single adult — the amount needed to achieve an acceptable minimum standard of living, taking account of the need for food, clothing, heating, accommodation, transport and other essentials — is “at least” €11.50 per hour.

However, at the Siptu conference in Cork, Bernie Casey, a member of the union’s national executive council (NEC), told delegates: “The fight for a living wage of €11.50 per hour is under way. But that is only the beginning. The real objective is the goal of €15 per hour. We have earned it, we deserve it, we have lost too much, suffered too much and feared too much over the past eight years.”

Ms Casey was speaking as the union’s NEC announced a new “campaign for decent work”. The campaign aims to target exploitation, particularly in the areas of low pay and zero hours contracts.

Ms Casey said the planned 50c hike to the current minimum wage of €8.65 in next week’s budget was “paltry”.

“As taxpayers, we have been supplementing employers who refused to pay decent rates,” said Ms Casey. “It is us, the taxpayers, who pay income support supplement and too many of our workers depend on that supplement to survive... It is time to fund and promote this campaign to ensure we succeed. We need to highlight the abuses of workers and name the employers that carry out those abuses.”