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PAY FREEZES AT Irish companies will continue in 2012, according to IBEC’s latest pay survey.
The employers’ group found that 69 per cent of companies will either freeze or reduce basic pay rates next year.
IBEC, which represents Irish businesses, said pay expectations needed to reflect current economic realities.
The survey of more than 400 members revealed that 64 per cent of companies intend to freeze pay in 2012, while about 5 per cent expect to reduce pay by about 10 per cent.
This year, about 72 per cent of companies will freeze pay and 7 per cent will reduce it.
IBEC director Brendan McGinty said that job protection and creation must continue to be a priority.
“Despite the fact that a quarter of companies plan to hire new staff in the next three months, employers are still not in a position to award pay increases,” he said, claiming that Irish compensation costs per employee remain 15 per cent higher than the EU15 average.
The group has proposed a number of measures to help boost employment. They include a reform of pension rules to allow people to draw down up to 25 per cent of the value of AVC’s without penalty. IBEC also suggested a social welfare smart card and property tax incentives for first-time buyers.
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It is a bit rich for IBEC to claim that job protection and creation is a “priority”. If they really believe that then they do not represent the majority of their members, whose priories are profit, profit and more profit.
The inconvenient truth is that business regards employees as an expensive necessary evil that eats into profits. Employee numbers and influence are, therefore, to be minimised at every opportunity.
We are by now familiar with the term ‘corporate greed’. It is high time the debate was broadened to include shareholder greed.
Maybe try creating a job or two yourself Tom. You might get some idea of how hard it is to make a business work. Saying that, there are many companies out there who are still doing well and I’m sure most of them that are will be giving pay rises, and the rest……..well they are wrong and I agree with you in regards those businesses.
Of course bank CEO’s are not affected by this at all.
spot on luke, seems if your one of the bailed out banks then you are above all the rules and regulations as well as the law!
“Pay expectations needed to reflect current economic realities.” It is an economic reality that it’s nigh on impossible to make ends meet on an average or even slightly above average wage. Is that the economic reality this article refers to?
It’s Gov budgets more than wage reductions or freezes have scraped away at the butter on the bread of the salaries of Ireland. And we’re told we’re in for more. That is where small to medium size businesses will go to the wall: many like myself have no disposable income! The day of the treat has terminated; the day of the spontaneous buy in banjaxed; the days of wine and roses have turned into tea and cosies,
Inflation is pushing 3%, its time for a pay rise
Quarter of companies plan to hire in the next 3 months, it’s called part time jobs for Christmas rush.
According to the jobs survey, 25% plan to hire and 5% plan to keep numbers at their existing level. Therefore 25% plan to cut jobs!
if the govt tried blocking the price hikes in electricity ,oil, and gas and the blatent profiteering in the meat industry, tacked thebanks over their outragous ‘service ‘charges, and stopped putting hidden tax’s on everything, then maybe people could afford to live on the wage they earn now, why can’t these so called’highlyeducated’ people get it through their thick skulls that the more you push up prices and tax’s, the more people need to live on.
have your say