The Irish Congress of Trade Unions today criticised the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, saying that the plan once again leaves workers as an afterthought.
ICTU said that the plan, published today by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, fails to make the positive link between good jobs, productivity and sustainable competitiveness.
Commenting on the plan, General Secretary Owen Reidy said:
Reading through the competitiveness plan, the Government seems to view good working conditions as little more than a drag on the economy.
It is a fact that staff retention, productivity and competitiveness depend on fair working conditions, decent wages, and work life balance. This plan will do nothing to address those.
Last week’s Eurobarometer showed that more than a quarter of Irish workers currently have poor quality jobs, with 15% in precarious, low-paid positions. Yet this critical competitiveness barrier receives no attention in the Government plan.
It is ironic that the Government issued this plan the same day as Ursula von der Leyen’s ‘State of the Union Address’ explicitly acknowledged that workers must be empowered if Europe is to have a competitive economy.
We know that the Government has obligations to workers under the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages, with an announcement due later this year on collective bargaining rights. In light of today’s plan, unions are concerned that workers will once again be the victims of this Government's race-to-the-bottom approach to competitiveness.
