Sinn Féin spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, Louise O’Reilly, has said new research from the Economic and Social Research Institute on minimum wage and lower quality jobs underlines the need for statutory collective bargaining and a living wage.

Teachta O’Reilly said:

“New research carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), and funded by the Low Pay Commission, has found that workers receiving the minimum wage are often in lower quality jobs.

“The comprehensive research also found that these workers have high levels of job insecurity and are less likely to be members of a trade union.

“While the analysis from the ESRI has only confirmed what trade unions and politicians on the left have been saying for many years, it is an exceptionally important piece of research, especially in the run up to Budget 2024.

“Interestingly, the ‘Job Quality of Minimum Wage Workers in Ireland’ report highlights that minimum wage workers are more likely to work longer shifts (more than 10 hours), that coincide with more unsocial time, than higher paid workers.

“Furthermore, these workers are also more likely to want to work more hours than they currently do, underlying the need for strengthening banded hours contracts legislation.

“The evidence based provided by the ESRI through this research underscores the need for brave changes by government – legislating for collective bargaining by a workers’ recognised trade union, strengthening banded hours contracts legislation, and granting, or bettering, the Low Pay Commission recommendation on the minimum wage increase in Budget 2024.”