Labour calls for emergency job creation strategy

The Taoiseach must launch an emergency strategy to create new jobs in every sector of the economy, Labour claimed today.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore also urged Brian Cowen to try to salvage some of the major redundancies announced at Dell, Waterford Crystal, CIE and Ericsson.

Mr Gilmore also welcomed the Taoiseach’s vow to make social partnership work despite the collapse in talks over public spending cuts talks earlier this week.

In a rousing address to the Dublin Chamber of Commerce Mr Cowen last night declared jobs were his top priority to kickstart economic growth – but he warned that Celtic Tiger-style living standards would plummet by more than 10% in coming months.

Mr Gilmore said today: “I will be asking the Taoiseach to bring before the Dail proposals on a sector by sector basis to protect jobs and generate new economic activity,” the Labour leader said.

“The Labour Party will constructively engage with the Government in exploring every avenue to deliver on jobs.”

Mr Gilmore said the real test of the Taoiseach’s commitment to make jobs a priority will be the Government’s response to hundreds of forthcoming lay-offs at Dublin Bus, Bus Eireann, Dell, Waterford Crystal and Ericsson.

Mr Cowen also told the Dublin Chamber of Commerce last night that he was committed to working with unions and employers in coming months despite a 4am walk-out by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions during overnight talks on Tuesday.

The Government later pressed ahead with a plan to impose a pension levy on the gross pay of 350,000 public service staff in a bid to find a two billion euro reduction in Exchequer spending.

Welcoming Mr Cowen’s comments, Mr Gilmore said today: “Social partnership can only work on the basis of agreement and it will be difficult for it to survive if the government insists on arbitrarily imposing what is effectively a penal wage cut on modestly paid public servants.”

Public service union Impact has called on its members to lobby TD offices on St Valentine’s Day in protest at the levy, which they labelled unfair.

Other unions representing gardai, teachers and nurses are meeting in coming days to consider their response to the measure, which the Government has insisted is vital to reorganise the public finances.