People Before Profit has welcomed statements from the Irish Congress of Trade Union condemning the government's proposed back-tracking on promised increases in the minimum wage, and called for 'coordinated, determined action against this or any austerity measures'.
Minister Jack Chambers has suggested that the government may seek to 'delay' proposed increases in the minimum wage, a move ICTU General Secretary Owen Reidy has said would be 'shameful and unacceptable' and amounts to 'a dose of austerity to low-paid workers'.
This comes on top of warnings from the government that they will not be introducing the increases in paid sick leave promised while introducing the Sick Leave Act in 2022.
Paul Murphy TD has said any such 'Austerity 2.0' must be 'vigorously opposed by the left parties in the Dáil, and workers and their unions on the streets'.
'Working people did not create this mess, they should not pay the price. This fight between billionaires for control of world markets is threatening the entire world economy. Mega corporations are trying to play governments off against each other, using this instability to press for more corporate welfare and pass the bill to workers. The minimum wage in this country is a poverty wage, for years and years we have heard promises that it would be increased to a living wage, this cannot be delayed and delayed while prices go up and up.
'ICTU is completely right to call this out, it is austerity 2.0 and must be resisted, not just in words, but in action. We need to organise now to be prepared to call protests and even industrial action against any attempts by the government to push down wages, or cut back on services to bail out big businesses. It was the unions, left parties and community campaigners coming together in the fight against water charges that forced the government back from austerity 10 years ago, we need to come together to warn the government that a similarly organised and militant movement will take place if they try to impose a new round of austerity for workers and bailouts for bosses.'