Low Pay Commission: RGDATA comes out against consultation exercise
Retail representatives RGDATA have been outwardly critical to the Low Pay Commission's approach to its latest consultation
Print12 January 2016
RGDATA, the representative association for independent and family-owned convenience stores across Ireland, has said that it plans to outline its concerns to the Low Pay Commission, regarding the manner in which its consultation on sub-minima pay rates for young people is conducted.
According to RGDATA, such consultation exercises are carried out based on a set of proposals which set out the context of the issue in legal and various other parameters, for which the information and participation of external stakeholders is sought. In this case, no such proposals are provided; instead, participants are being asked to comment generally on the “appropriateness of the sub-minima rates, with regard to their imapct on youth unemployment rates and participation in education”.
RGDATA has come out against this method of consultation. “There is no information provided on the impact of the rates on youth unemployment rates or participation in education,” says RGDATA director general Tara Buckley, “and consequently we are being asked our opinion on an unspecific and very general issue.
“If the Low Pay Commission is to perform its functions effectively, it behoves the Commission to present a properly-structured and informed consultation process, rather than just throw out general themes for discussion and subjective assessment.”
According to RGDATA, this issue is an important one for its members, due to the large amount of young people who work part time in supermarkets and convenience stores across Ireland.
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