Mandate Represented at Minimum Wage: 25 Years Event on May Day
Tuesday 6 May 2025Mandate representatives attended the recent ICTU event on May Day to mark the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the National Minimum Wage, which was originally set at £4.40.
Mandate, along with The National Youth Council of Ireland, reiterated its call for the Minister to abolish the sub minimum rates paid to workers under 20, which currently start at €9.45 compared the full National Minimum Wage rate of €13.50.
Speaking at the Ictu event, Mandate’s Caroline Clifford said the union could see no basis for the sub-minimum rates in retail: “There are no apprenticeships in the sector,” she said, “so we don’t believe there is any justification for paying young workers any less than their older colleagues.”
Mandate has also commented on an ESRI study released last week which shows that the three-year deferral of the living wage will affect nearly one-in-five workers coming into new jobs.
“While Mandate collectively bargains pay rates well in excess of the minimum wage in retail and bar trades, we know from our day-to-day work about the increasing usage of minimum wage rates by profitable employers in those trades,” said Mandate Interim Assistant General Secretary, Jim Fuery.
“These workers will be especially hard hit by the Government’s decision to defer the introduction of the living wage for three years,” he added.
