Costly services add to cost-of-living crisis

The high cost of services like healthcare, education and childcare, which are free or cheap in other relatively wealthy European countries, is intensifying Ireland’s cost of living crisis and will likely help fuel demands for wage increases in the face of consistently high inflation, according to the President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU).

Speaking at the Siptu biennial delegate conference in Sligo this morning (Wednesday), Kevin Callinan called on the Government to engage in social dialogue with employers and unions to tackle rising prices and other aspects of the economic and geopolitical impact of the war in Ukraine.

He added that the fallout from Russia’s war would be felt across Ireland and the rest of Europe “certainly in terms of further increases in the cost of essentials like food and fuel, and possibly in the form of a new and potentially deep recession.”

Mr Callinan, who is also general secretary of Fórsa, said neither unions nor Government could ignore the impact of inflation on living standards. “It hits the poorest first and hardest. But we also know that, against today’s uncertain background, the protection of employment must remain as big a priority for our movement as confronting the cost of living.

“Over the last two years, we’ve proved beyond doubt our collective ability to meet challenges of this scale and seriousness. During the Covid crisis – and particularly in the early months of the pandemic – this was done through a more robust commitment to social dialogue that we’ve seen for years.

“Using the LEEF (Labour-Employer Economic Forum) as the main vehicle, unions, employers and Government quickly and effectively tackled huge issues like maintaining incomes and employment through State supports, and collectively agreeing an effective approach to workplace health and safety during a pandemic.

“I have consistently argued that we should deploy the same approach to big-ticket issues like climate change and the just transition, expanding the role of the State, dealing with structural economic shifts like automation and changing patterns of work organisation, and creating world-class public services in the post-pandemic era. Clearly, the economic and geopolitical impact of the war in Ukraine needs to be added to that list,” he said.

Mr Callinan said Ireland’s inadequate ‘social wage’ – free or affordable services provided by the State – was most keenly felt when prices are on the rise.

“The trade union movement has been quick to respond to the soaring cost of living and its impact on our families’ living standards. In the face of high and persistent inflation, ICTU’s Private Sector Committee has twice upgraded its advice on private sector pay aspirations since the end of 2021. And I think that they will have to do so again. And, earlier this month, the Congress Public Services Committee invoked the review clause of the Building Momentum agreement in response to the cost-of-living crisis.

“We are operating in a fast-changing situation in this regard. None of us can predict the global economic reverberations of the war in Ukraine with certainty. What is certain is that we will all feel the impact, certainly in terms of further increases in the cost of essentials like food and fuel, and possibly in the form of a new and potentially deep recession,” he said.

Mr Callinan added that he did not see social dialogue as an alternative to collective bargaining and was not arguing for a return to the kind of social partnership agreements in place before the banking and fiscal crisis.

“But, as the pandemic experience clearly demonstrated, we need to strengthen social dialogue radically in Ireland, bringing it in line with the approach of other relatively rich European countries to deal with the big issues effectively, and in ways that mean workers and communities are never forgotten or left behind,” he said.

Mr Callinan applauded the public and official response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, including the waiving of visa restrictions and the decision to allow Ukrainians to work or claim benefits from the day they arrive in Ireland.

“This has inevitably drawn comparisons with a grudging and ungenerous attitude to refugees from other nations, and shone a light on our awful, antiquated asylum regime, which is typified by the discredited and disgraceful system of direct provision.

“That approach is now way past it’s sell-by date, and the Ukrainian response must now be the model for Ireland’s future treatment of refugees and asylum-seekers, regardless of what country or continent they set out from before they reach our shores,” he said.

He added that President Putin’s illegal invasion and horrific war had united the people of Ukraine, Ireland and Europe “in a determination to say ‘no’ to aggression, and to resist attacks on our democracies, our self-determination, and our sovereignty.”