Low Pay Commission starts process to decide NMW
New body to report back to government on appropriate national minimum wage rate by mid-July
Print26 February 2015
The new Low Pay Commission was officially launched earlier today (Thursday, 26 February) by the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Ministers Bruton and Nash.
The independent body is now beginning its work on advising the government on the appropriate rate of the national minimum wage and is expected to submit its first report to government by the middle of July.
The commission will examine the rate of the minimum wage on an annual basis from now on, after its establishment was included as a key commitment in the Statement of Priorities, agreed by the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste last year.
The chairperson, Dr Donal de Buitléir and eight commissioners were appointed by the Minister for Business and Employment, Ged Nash, earlier this month. The commissioners include the CSNA’s Vincent Jennings, Patricia King, SIPTU; Tom Noonan, The Maxol Group; Gerry Light, Mandate; Caroline McEnery, The HR Suite; Edel McGinley, Migrant Rights Centre Ireland; Mary Mosse, WIT Business School and Prof Donal O’Neill of NUI, Maynooth.
They plan to take an evidence based approach to the setting of the minimum wage. They will examine existing data, commission new research if necessary and consult directly with workers and employers in order to decide on what the national minimum wage should be.
The Low Pay Commission may also be asked to examine issues relating to low pay as part of their work programme to be agreed and set at the beginning of each year.
Speaking at the launch in St Andrew’s Resource Centre, Pearse St, Dublin, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said, “This government will make work pay, as gainful employment is the route out of poverty. We have to break cycles of intergenerational poverty for the good of our society. It is why we have targeted tax reductions at low and middle income earners and lifted 420,000 people out of Fianna Fail’s USC charge.”
He added that in order to protect existing jobs, he will “also ask government to look at measures to mitigate the impact any changes could have on small employers”.
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