The Government will introduce a national minimum wage "and do it fairly speedily", the Taoiseach told the IMPACT conference last night. He also promised to clamp down on tax breaks and lessen the tax burden on low- and middle-income earners.
He dismissed those who complained that the economy could not afford a national minimum wage as the same people who had opposed the 39-hour week, and even social partnership. The Government is committed to introducing a minimum wage by April 1st, 2000, but Mr Ahern seemed to indicate it could be sooner.
He made no reference to the Government's decision to request a six-month delay on the introduction of unpaid parental leave for workers with young children. This was due to come into effect from June 3rd, and there is an emergency motion before the IMPACT conference deploring the decision to put it off until January.
After a day in which the Government - and particularly the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy - came in for repeated criticism from delegates for the last Budget, the Taoiseach was anxious to stress his sense of identity with delegates. Taking a break from a hectic schedule on the referendum trails, he said: "I wanted to be here to listen, to understand."
It was not surprising that social partnership was showing signs of strain after 10 years, he said. People had quickly forgotten the previous free-for-all and how quickly economic success could turn to failure. "We need to ensure that the benefits of our economic growth are now shared with the marginalised, the disadvantaged, the elderly, the disabled."
In an indirect reference to the craftworkers' dispute and Garda pay claim, he said: "I don't believe that the current examples of pay disputes spell the end of social partnership. We have all put too much into the process and it has delivered too much for the country to let that happen."
Responding to the Taoiseach, the IMPACT general secretary, Mr Peter McLoone, said the success of social partnership was "well documented and proven". In the lead-up to the Budget and discussions on the next national agreement, low pay, exploitation in the workplace and the development of a low-wage economy would have to be tackled.
To loud applause, Mr McLoone said: "We cannot have a repeat of the 1998 Budget, which failed to deliver the commitment in Partnership 2000 to weigh the benefits of economic growth in favour of those on low incomes".