📣Calling all union reps & staff Will you be able to answer your members’ questions when the first auto-enrolment contributions are deducted from 800,000 pay packets in January? Fear not! ICTU has you covered. Auto-Enrolment Ask Me Anything. 23rd October. Sign up✍️

Maeve Richardson, Digital Organiser at FSU, who participated with @drbambrick.bsky.social, Social Policy at ICTU, and Bryan O’Mahony, President of USI/Amle, in the @forsatradeunion.bsky.social Youth Conference in @tcddublin.bsky.social on Friday Support the respectatwork.ie petition

High minimum wage? (No) Generous welfare payments? (No) A canary in the coal mine? (Too soon to say) I’ve some words here on the 4,500 jump in the monthly youth unemployment rate in yesterday’s CSO estimates. jrnl.ie/6785620

12 weeks. Monday 27 October. When the next bank holiday is. The biggest gap between two long weekends.

866,874 of beneficiaries were aged over 66 and 1,288,428 were aged under 18 (61% of the 3.5m total beneficiaries of social protection in 2024).

I spoke to the Indo about a motion passed at our conference for a firefighters union’s Fight for 52 (52 weeks full pay for employees on maternity leave) to be ICTU policy. Enough pearl-clutching about falling fertility. Get mad at the financial penalty on working families and join our Fight for 52!

€12 on the pension would push it over €300 a week (currently €289.30) and put the breaks on mounting accusations of an uncaring government.

Once more unto the breach! #NED25

“For women with high ambition, you must find a partner who will support your career. Otherwise, the evidence is clear: just stay single.” www.ft.com/content/e808...

Half a billion handout with no strings attached.

Our #BDC25 conference packs are being dropped off at affiliated union HQs today for onward delivery to delegates. Can’t wait? Activity report and conference agenda now available online www.ictu.ie/publications...

When our mothers were young workers, job interviewers could ask about their family planning or childcare arrangements! Soon we’ll ban asking job applicants about their earnings to ensure if you’re in a job where you’re underpaid or undervalued, low pay won’t follow you for the rest of your career.

GONE TO PRINT🤸🏻‍♀️ 2-year union activity report 🗓️ 165 pages 📑 200+ photos 📸 ZERO typos 🤥 5-star www.three-creative.com/ designer 🧑‍🎨 4 weeks till we see y’all at our #BDC25 👋

Nine weeks. Monday 4 August. In case you’re wondering when the next bank holiday is.

Some woman for one woman 🫡 Delighted Betty will be bringing her passion and know-how to our ICTU retired workers’ committee.

EU source: “Can he not just f*** off and let us have a Friday” #Trumptariffs

Over 1 million people (1,034,900) are now working from home at least some of the week. Over half a million (554.5m) usually work more than half the time from home, up almost 15,000 year-on-year. Reports of the death of remote are greatly exaggerated! CSO, Q1 2025 Labour Force Survey.

Applications now open for five board members of the pensions auto-enrolment authority. One member will have knowledge or experience in matters relating to the interests of employees Closing date: 6 June Apply via publicjobs.ie www.publicjobs.ie/en/index.php...

Lovely to be in Costa del Donegal for a conversation on low staff morale in our health & welfare services and breaking the vicious cycle of understaffing, burnout, sickness &/ or staff churn. The size of our public sector must keep pace with our growing, ageing & more complex needs population.

Denis O'Brien says remote working is a 'load of nonsense' - do you agree? jrnl.ie/6704481

“If you are earning €75,000 you are in the top 10% of highest earners in the country,” Bambrick said. “Even average two-income couples will struggle to meet the mortgage requirements,” Bambrick added. jrnl.ie/6704010

Hear, hear!

Happy May Day weekend🚩 More than 160 countries celebrate May Day and the contribution of workers. In 66 countries, May 1st or the first Monday is a national holiday. Ireland was one of the last to make May Day a holiday - in 1994, and it marked our centenary. WATCH: RTÉ News report bit.ly/3EPB6fw

Happy May Day fellow wage slaves 🚩 It’s better in a union.

New delay to mandatory pension a ‘bitter pill to swallow’ for workers www.independent.ie/business/mon...

This delay must be viewed in the context of decisions taken in the past fortnight. The promised 10 sick days halved, the living wage kicked out for 3 years and abolishing sub-minimum youth rates deferred indefinitely. Our response to auto-enrolment rollout delay. www.ictu.ie/news/auto-en...

The Communications Workers' Union has announced its decision to formally close its account with X, formerly Twitter, accusing the platform of being anti-worker, anti-union, and anti-democratic

Delighted to be back where it all began for me to share my cheat sheet for wannabe policymakers at TCD alumni careers night.

Twice as many in all demographics oppose, as support, government’s decision to break their promises on a living wage and sick pay. Business Post/ Red C opinion tracker poll

Hope! Just 1 in 4 (24%) voters support government’s decision to break their promises on a living wage and sick pay.

Around half of all the qualified apprentices in 2020 were aged OVER 26 years. Apprentices still have no right to a minimum wage. The number of qualified apprentices in 2020 is down 30% from its 2011 high point. Who will build those 300,000 homes over the next 5 years?

Join us on May Day to mark the 25th anniversary of the minimum wage 🚩 In good economic times and bad, the argument against a minimum wage is always the same: “It stifles growth and kills jobs.” Wrong then, wrong now! 🔗 more details www.ictu.ie/news/irelands-minimum-wage-turns-25

From Leo XIII (1891) to Francis, pope after pope has taught that workers have a right to a living wage. www.americamagazine.org/issue/581/ar...

“This is really about stuffing the mouths of business with gold to silence their incessant protests.

My answer to a hardy annual - Do I get Good Friday off work? ⤵️ More on your public holidays’ rights here ➡️ jrnl.ie/6609436

Trump tariff chaos being used as ‘cover’ to erode worker rights in Ireland, unions claim

ICTU spokeswoman said “the decisions taken are not about competitiveness. This is government cowing to business lobbyists. Taken together, this is a shopping list of anti-worker measures that sticks it to the lowest-paid, sick, migrant, young and retiring workers.” www.independent.ie/irish-news/t...

Most companies report no real noticeable impact since the introduction of sick pay: ▪️ on absenteeism (73%) ▪️ on profitability (68%)

Dr Bambrick said the combination of delays to increases to the minimum wage and the rowing back on commitments to increase the number of paid sick days for employees, along with the new delay to auto-enrolment, represented “an assault on workers” www.independent.ie/business/mon...

“not only is it morally bankrupt to do this to our lowest paid workers, it’s economically short-sighted.” - me www.newstalk.com/news/governm...

The General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has said the possible delay by the Government on the living wage is "shameful and unacceptable"

In good economic times and bad, critics of the minimum wage claim a rise in the rate will kill jobs. Wrong then, wrong today! Join us on May Day to mark the 25th anniversary of Ireland’s minimum wage.

First they came for sick pay… “As part of a new 15-point plan to “cut the red tape” for businesses, ministers will move to delay the introduction of the living wage, and reconsider extensions to parents’ leave while a new pensions auto-enrolment plan [is delayed]” www.thetimes.com/article/fd18...

ICYMI I did a little recap of the pandemic promises made (and broken) by Government to low paid workers. www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

A nice end to a long week. 4,400 workers each benefitted €400 on average from a union-led temporary amendment to the legislation calculating their redundancy entitlement.

Dr Bambrick said the government’s response to tariffs “should be focused on protecting household spending going into our local economies and small businesses”. “In taking money out of the pockets of sick workers without a company sick scheme to fall back on, this decision does exactly the opposite.

From yesterday’s Sunday Independent: Benefits of a good father-child bond are huge. So why aren’t more men taking paternity leave? “The Irish Congress of Trade ­Unions has weighed in, saying the €289 flat rate of payment for the leave is a lose-lose for families and ⤵️

Government determined not to let a good crisis go to waste. Plans to increase paid sick leave further delayed Minimum wage will be next for the chop. Because famously protecting household spending is bad for businesses during economic uncertainty🙄

“unless their employer tops up the €289 benefit payment, and there is no legal requirement on them to do so, few fathers can vindicate their right to time off work to care for their babies at one of the most expensive times for a young family”, Ictu said. www.irishtimes.com/ireland/soci...