The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has said that the government must immediately develop a clear strategy to counter the real threat to the jobs and economic well being of tens of thousands of workers, arising from Brexit.
Congress General Secretary Patricia King said that "from the outset Congress has consistenly warned that workers and their families would bear the brunt of the UK's decision to exit the European Union and our fears appear to be confirmed by findings of a new study from Copenhagen Economics on the likely impact of Brexit on the Irish economy.
'this report should set alarm bells ringing in government. They now have a clear responsibility to put in place a clear, coherent and properly-resourced strategy to offset the threat to jobs and living standards across the economy, from Brexit," Ms King said.
"In the absence of such an overarching strategy, Brexit has the potential to inflict serious damgae on the economy, which will in turn impact on the incomes, living standards and livelihoods of workers.
The study from Copenhagen Economics showed that up to 30,000 jobs in the agri-food, pharma and chemical sectors could be at risk, when the UK exits the EU. Brexit would also impact negatively on wages for lower-skilled workers, it revealed.
"Congress has been persistently argued that government has an obligation to protect the security of these 'at risk' jobs. Retraining and upskilling programmes are vital and should be instigated immediately.
