John Douglas sends letter to all TDs calling for protection of the minimum wage
Thursday 2 December 2010Re: Proposed cuts to the minimum wage and welfare payments
Dear Deputy,
The Government’s four year plan has targeted the most vulnerable in our society. The reduction in the minimum wage of one euro an hour will have the most profound impact on the poorest in our society.
It will hit women and children particularly hard as the majority of minimum wage workers are women. With the collapse of sectors of traditional male employment such as construction, many of these women are the household’s sole bread winner. The planned social welfare cutbacks in the December Budget will once again disproportionately impact on such households. The question must now be asked how much more can these families be expected to endure?
There are fairer ways to correct our economic problems than targeting those who benefited least and contributed least to the vandalism of our economy. The legacy of YOUR decisions will never be forgiven but it’s not too late.
Do not support this unfair attack on the working poor.
Mandate Trade Union’s 45,000 members and their families all across Ireland await your response. Their future is for the moment in your hands but your future is also in theirs. Mandate Trade Union will proactively inform our members of the decisions you make so they can make considered choices in the near future.
I ask that you commit to not supporting/reversing the cut in the minimum wage and welfare cuts.
I await your response. If a response is not forthcoming, it will be interpreted as a failure to make a commitment to the poorest in society.
Yours Sincerely,
John Douglas
General Secretary
Mandate Trade Union
