The Government must not renege on tax commitments made in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF), SIPTU warned today.
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SIPTU general president Mr Des Geraghty
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Addressing delegates at SIPTU’s biennial National Delegate Conference in Tralee this morning, SIPTU general president Mr Des Geraghty said SIPTU would not back down on key concessions to the low-paid and that it was prepared to fight for them.
"Any slowing down of the economy next year, even to a growth rate of as little as 1 to 2 per cent, provides no excuse whatsoever for either Government or employers to attempt to pull back on their PPF commitments," he said.
"The fact that Ireland’s growth last year was twice the average envisaged under the programme, and that it was on a par with it this year, means that the growth performance over the full period of the PPF will still match the projected average annual GNP increase of 5.6 per cent provided for in the programme.
"So the PPF commitment to take all those on the minimum wage completely out of the tax net must definitely be met and will have a beneficial effect on our economy".
He also rejected any attempts by the Government to place the burden of the economic downturn on the backs of the underpaid and urged those "who made millions" during boom-times to reinvest the money to stabilise markets.
"The days of the poor paying for the extravagances of the rich are over," he said. "We will . . . fight to defend our achievements in the public, private or commercial State sectors, in spite of any ideological onslaught from the right."
Declaring that a return to unemployment, emigration and recession was not inevitable, he called for a pro-active State-led plan, drawn up in consultation with the social partners, to consolidate existing enterprise in the domestic economy.
The SIPTU conference, which began this morning, will continue until Friday.