Government Faces Backlash Over Living Wage Deadline U-Turn

Thursday, 8 October 2026 12:28

The Enterprise Minister is being criticised by both SIPTU and the Irish Congress of Trade Union.

The Government has come under fire over changing the deadline for implementing a Living Wage target.

Both SIPTU and the Irish Congress of Trade Union criticising the Minister for Enterprise and Longford-Westmeath TD Peter Burke and the coalition over the move.

In a statement, SIPTU Deputy General Secretary, Ethel Buckley accused the government of trying to bury the bad news, as the decision to remove the 2029 deadline was buried in a lengthy Departmental briefing.

She said by not substituting a new deadline, the Government has for all practical purposes abandoned the policy of a living wage itself and claimed that as a result, hundreds of thousands of minimum wage and low-paid workers will now be expected to work for wages that fall short of an acceptable and adequate income.

General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Owen Reidy accused the Government of breaking their living wage promise to the country’s lowest paid workers, and claimed the decision is solely the result of Government cowing to intense lobbying from business interest groups.