Ah, the low-paid - if words were money they’d be living on easy street.  Everybody wants to help the low-paid.  Certainly, Fianna Fail was determined to.  Shortly before becoming Taoiseach, Brian Cowen had this to say:
‘In terms of those families whose income earners would be classified as low paid or who are dependent on social [...]

With the pay talks nearly at an end, IBEC, in the form of its representative here on earth - our friend Turlough - is warning of the gravest repercussions if Irish employees are granted the right to collective bargaining.  Now, this is a right by law that employees in almost every industrialised country [...]

You’d think from listening to the employers of the land that every business in every sector is in danger of bankruptcy, liquidation or receivership.  They are all teetering on some ill-defined brink whose location is undisclosed - but it is real nonetheless, or so we are told to believe.  This poor-mouthing can be so passionate, almost persuasive, that [...]

In a previous post, I suggested Turlough O’Sullivan suffered from an unfortunate quirk - he couldn’t bring himself to saying the words ‘low-paid’ with inserting the rider ‘so-called’. I proposed the appropriate therapy - read the facts. But a reader of my blog, Yvonne, has diagnosed another malady Turlough suffers from - innumeracy.
Prior to re-entering [...]

IBEC’s Turlough O’Sullivan has an unfortunate ideological quirk but it is treatable.  It seems he can’t say the words ‘low-paid’ without inserting ’so-called’ before them.  In fact, he has trouble using the actual words ‘low-paid’, only managing to say ‘lower-paid’. Still, his condition dictates that he still inserts ’so-called’ before them.  Mark Hennessy describes this condition [...]

Truly, a tale of two economic cities.  First, the Irish Times heads an article ‘Wage Increases Higher than EU Average in 2007′.  Citing a recent European Industrial Relations Observatory survey it stated:
‘Irish workers enjoyed higher wage increases than their counterparts across Europe in 2007 . . ‘
Well, actually they didn’t.  The report has it in black [...]

I have a friend with a strange sense of humour. His email says only ‘Enjoy the weekend’. But attached is a news statement from the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME). Some friend. ISME and the Small Firms Association are in competition with each other over who can best represent small/medium [...]

Here’s a recession tip for you: join a trade union. Get your friends, workmates and family to join a trade union. It will improve your living standards, help economic growth and give out a dig-out to the Finance Minister Brian Lenihan. The Centre for Economic and Policy Research, one of the [...]

The Small Firms Association (SFA) has looked deep into the problems of the economy and has come up with a solution: cut people’s wages. Not just cut, but do a right machete job on them. And not just any ol’ wages, but the wages of the lowest paid in society.
Wow, that’s a recipe [...]