Dear Members,

The battle over the reform of the Joint Labour Committee system of wage negotiation is finally coming to a head. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton will bring his proposals to the rest of the Government early next week.

Now is the time to make sure every backbench TD in the country knows how important an issue this is for ordinary Irish workers. If we, the workers and taxpayers of this country, make our case loudly enough the Government will have to listen.

What to do?

There are a number of different things you can do to make sure your local TDs know that we mean business. You can do one or all of the suggested actions below.

• Contact all your local TDs constituency offices. Arrange to meet the TD by the end of the week. Then in a polite but firm manner, explain to your public representatives what a cut in Sunday Premiums would mean for you and why Mandate oppose Minister Bruton’s proposals.
• Phone your local representatives’ constituencies offices and over the phone explain what a cut in Sunday Premiums would mean for you and why Mandate oppose Minister Bruton’s proposals.
• Follow the steps below to send an email message to all your local representatives that explains your reasons for opposing Minister Bruton’s proposals.

The time for action is now. We have a voice. Let the Government hear it loud and clear.

Why Mandate opposes the Bruton proposals

• The abolition of the JLC system will not, according to the independent Duffy/Walsh report, create a surge in job creation.
• The reduction of the wages of the low paid will not, according again to the independent Duffy/Walsh report, create significant additional employment.
• With demand down 25% in the last three years, any reduction of low paid workers wages, which are returned in their entirety to the local economy, would cause further job losses as demand shrinks.
• Sunday premium payments are an entitlement across all sectors of the economy because the State recognises the social value in one shared day of rest per week. Retail, hotel and restaurant workers don’t choose but are obliged to work these days by their employers. Sunday premium payments are an acknowledgment of their sacrifice but oftentimes are the difference between surviving or not.

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