Union executive warns that hitting living standards will not Trump-proof economy

The Irish Executive Committee of trade union Unite has committed the union to campaigning against any moves by the government to abandon the commitment to raise the National Minimum Wage to 60 per cent of median earnings on 1 January 2026.  

The union’s executive also criticised the decision to scrap promised extensions to statutory sick pay and extend the deadline for pension auto-enrolment, pointing out that these rowbacks will impact heaviest on the lowest-paid workers, who are disproportionately likely to be women, migrant workers, young workers and workers with disabilities.  

Unite’s Irish secretary Susan Fitzgerald said:

“When it comes to workers, it is clear that the government’s guiding principle is ‘never waste a good crisis’, and they are using the excuse of tariffs to rip up commitments to Ireland’s lowest-paid workers.  

“As well as announcing U-turns on sick pay and auto-enrolment, they are now cynically taking aim at the commitment to raise the National Minimum Wage to 60 per cent of median earnings next January. The promised increase falls far below what is needed for those workers who serve us in shops and restaurants, who look after our vulnerable and elderly and who struggle to put food on the table and a roof over their families’ heads. Yet, scandalously, this government is even preparing the ground to tear up that minimal commitment.  

“If the government were serious about Trump-proofing the economy, they would actually boost the incomes an in-work benefits of the lowest earners in order to maintain and enhance domestic demand, rather than giving in to lobbying by employers in sectors such as hospitality who will be unaffected by tariffs”.  

The chair of Unite’s Irish Executive Committee Jeff Robinson said:

“We are very clear: Unite condemns any attempts to squeeze workers’ living standards, and we will campaign to ensure that the government keeps its minimal promises to the workers who keep our economy going”.