Minister warns 'we have lost competitiveness'

MAYNOOTH, 10 October 2002: Minister for finance Charlie McCreevy has warned that pay increases under any new partnership agreement ‘must enhance competitiveness’.

Speaking to the Kildare Council of Trade Unions, he said that under the PPF Ireland has lost competitiveness, with wages increases going way in excess of those in competitor countries. Over the last five years, he said, employee earnings rose about 12& across the Euro area, while in Ireland they increased by about 35%.

“Jobs depend on our ability to compete,” he concluded. “This is a time to consolidate the gains we have made so that we can build for the future.”

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