IBEC:BUSINESS GROUP Ibec has called on the next government to keep the minimum wage at €7.65 an hour and review a series of regulated wage agreements.
Launching a list of pro-business proposals in Dublin yesterday, Ibec argued for the €1 cut in the minimum wage introduced by the outgoing Government to be kept in place. Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin have all pledged to reverse the cut if elected.
Ibec director general Danny McCoy added that regulated wage agreements in the retail, hospitality and construction sectors were “like a whale that has been beached after the Celtic Tiger period”, with the rates fixed “too high”.
“I think we need to be aggressive in the first 100 days of the next administration to get this sorted out,” he said.
The group, which represents 7,500 employers, also wants the next government to make changes to the welfare system “to ensure that there is a strong incentive to work” despite higher income taxes in the last budget.
As part of a “spirit of collaboration” between business and government, Ibec’s Jobs Manifesto for Election 2011 document proposes that there should be greater incentives for public-private partnerships on infrastructure projects. It says a national infrastructure development agency should be set up to achieve this.
Its other proposals include the introduction of a loan guarantee scheme for small and medium enterprises and the appointment of a senior minister “to drive the jobs agenda across government”.
It said there was a risk the focus of political leaders on the campaign trail meant Ireland could “miss out” on an opportunity to argue against plans for a pan-European corporate tax system.
Mr McCoy said he was concerned political leaders would “sleepwalk through” a move by the German chancellor Angela Merkel and the French president Nicolas Sarkozy to put the creation of a common consolidated corporate tax base back on the European agenda.
The National Asset Management Agency (Nama) also came in for criticism, with Ibec describing it as “impenetrable”.
Meanwhile, Ibec economist Fergal O’Brien said he expected Ireland’s gross domestic product to grow by 1.8 per cent this year. However, he forecast that gross national product would grow by just 0.8 per cent, indicating the fragility of the domestic economy.
