Weekly wages down by €76 due to inflation

Due to high inflation, real weekly wages have dropped by €76 in the last year, according to Unite. 

Real weekly wages have dropped by €76 over the past two years due to rising inflation, according to new research from Unite trade union. 

The Work Voice Pay report shows that the real median wage in Ireland has fallen from €976 per week to €900 per week since the first quarter of 2021. Workers have seen an average 4.2% annual drop in real pay in the last year.

It also confirmed that in the last year, solid fuels (like coal) have risen by nearly a third, while electricity by nearly two-thirds. Compared with prices a year ago, gas prices are now 86% higher. 

Consumer goods have soared too, with the latest consumer price index showing a 7.7% rise in the twelve months ending March 2023, with household staples like bread, milk and butter among the items increasing sharply. 

On a visit to Dublin, Unite General Secretary, Sharon Graham said: “Unite members in Ireland see their budgets being stretched thinner each month, while there is no end in sight to the epidemic of rampant profiteering across the Irish economy.

“Since the start of 2021 Irish workers have seen their real weekly wages drop by nearly €80, and while big business makes bonanza profits ordinary families struggle to heat their homes and put food on the table.

“Unite’s new series of Work Voice Pay bulletins in Ireland will provide our reps and members with the tools they need to negotiate real pay increases. And employers here need to be aware that we’re now organising the union so that it can fight for jobs, pay and conditions as never before”.