SFA urges workers not to make pay demands

The Small Firms Association has urged workers not to make wage demands after a survey it carried out found that earnings in Ireland rose by 6% last year, more than twice the EU average.

The SFA said its annual pay survey showed that pay levels increased by more than 10% in the service sector, where inflation is running at 8%.

The association said the figures suggest that recent wage restraint is not having the desired effect of reducing inflation.