Poorest people hit by harsher inflation as unions prepare for strikes

Sean Moynihan, CEO of Alone, said his organisation is concerned about the impact of inflation on older people this winter and in 2023. File picture: Arthur Carron

The cost of living crisis is having a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable people in society with older people rationing food as they struggle to pay their energy bills.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) estimates that inflation to June 2022 is at 8.2% for the highest earning households, but 10.3% for those with the lowest levels of income.

While all households are experiencing inflation at a level not seen for nearly 40 years, the pain is not being shared evenly, according to the CSO data.

Advocacy groups have urged the Government to target supports for the most vulnerable in Budget 2023.

According to the CSO, groups experiencing more than the headline inflation rate of 9.1% as of June include lower-income households, those who rent from a local authority, those renting privately, one-parent families, and rural households.

It said: “Households with lower incomes spend a higher proportion of their expenditure on rent and electricity, gas and other fuel, items that had high inflation over the period.”

Sean Moynihan, CEO of older persons’ charity Alone, said his organisation is concerned at the impact of inflation on older people this winter and in 2023.

“Older people have a fixed income and are less able to cope with these increases in costs,” he said. “We need Government intervention in Budget 2023 to make real change for older people.”

The charity One Family, which supports lone parents, demanded the Government take action. Chief executive Karen Kiernan said: “For many families who were already struggling, these increases will push them into a current of poverty that will be very hard to escape from.

In real terms, this means children and families will go hungry and cold this winter as they run out of options.

“This just isn’t right in Ireland in the 21st century.”

Public sector unions, meanwhile, say they are “prepared to do whatever it takes” up to and including nationwide strikes to secure a new pay deal for their members who are also struggling to meet surging energy and housing costs.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ public service committee, which represents around 90% of Ireland’s public servants, has agreed to begin balloting members as early as next month for industrial action, potentially including strikes.

The Workplace Relations Commission has invited unions and the Government to fresh talks on the matter after a previous round failed.

'Unified campaign'

The ICTU committee’s chairperson Kevin Callinan said unions “are prepared to do whatever it takes in a unified campaign” when asked if they are prepared to go on strike this winter.

The Government has offered a 2.5% pay rise this year and another 2.5% rise next year.

That is in addition to a 2% increase already provided for an existing agreement.

The unions have described the offer as far short of inflation which Mr Callinan pointed out has risen by 11% in the last two years.

“What we want is to close the gap between an inflation rate of 11%, or near enough to it, over the last two years, and what the government offered,” he told RTÉ radio.

Mr Callinan said it would be a “very short meeting” at the WRC unless there is significant movement from the Government.

A Government spokesperson said its aim is to reach “agreement on terms that are fair to public servants and to taxpayers generally”. “Achieving this will require goodwill and a degree of flexibility on both sides,” the spokesperson added.