MANDATE TRADE UNION CALLS FOR ABOLITION OF DISCRIMINATORY AND DISRESPECTFUL SUB-MINIMUM WAGE RATES FOR YOUNGER WORKERS
Wednesday 11 January 2023
The Mandate Trade Union has today called for the abolition of the sub-minimum rates of the National Minimum Wage which the union says are discriminatory and disrespectful towards younger workers.
The union’s Assistant General Secretary, Jonathan Hogan, explained that while the new National Minimum Wage rates apply from 1 January – see the table below – most minimum wage workers will see the impact in their pay packets from tomorrow.
From 1 January 2023, the following rates apply:
| Age | Amount | % of NMW |
| Under 18 | €7.91 | 70% |
| 18 years old | €9.04 | 80% |
| 19 years old | €10.17 | 90% |
| National Minimum Wage (20+) | €11.30 | 100% |
“In this day and age, Mandate thinks that it is highly discriminatory and disrespectful that younger workers get paid less – for doing the exact same work – as their older colleagues. It’s simply not acceptable that a 17-year-old in retail gets 30% less per hour worked than a 20-year-old simply by virtue of their age,” Jonathan Hogan said.
Mr Hogan acknowledged the importance of the increase in the full National Minimum Wage rate from €10.50 to €11.30 per hour but said that the sub-minimum rates for workers aged under-20 years need to be abolished.
“A lot of false assumptions underlie the concept of the sub-minimum rates – in other words, that younger workers’ incomes can be subsidised by their parents. However, the reality is often quite different with many younger workers making an important contribution to family incomes if they are at home or – if they are away from home – using their wages to pay the same rising living costs as everybody else. The outdated and old-fashioned concept of sub-minimum wage rates for younger workers needs to end and Mandate will be campaigning to ensure that this happens,” Jonathan Hogan concluded.
