Letter | Dáil debate on Equal Pay for Young Workers shows lack of care

Dear Editor,

Yesterday’s Dáil debate on People Before Profit’s National Minimum Wage (Equal Pay for Young Workers) Bill 2022, highlighted a concerning lack of care from Government and some opposition TDs for young people in Ireland today.

I began working when I was 16 and earned €6.06 per hour. I completed the same work as my colleagues who were paid €8.65 per hour, a 42% higher wage.

This disparity meant that a full day of work wouldn’t even earn me €50, whilst the business took in €5,000 in the same time.

This debate does not aim to pit younger or inexperienced workers against their older and/or more experienced counterparts. Rather, it is centred on ensuring that all people are paid their fair share for the labour they contribute.

Why the government feels the need to delay this action by a further 12 months is beyond me. People need a pay rise, that includes our younger workforce.

Furthermore, in contradiction to some TDs attitudes, children as young as 12 should not be concerned with finding work, gaining experience, and joining the workforce. Children should be concerned about school, learning and developing to just be, rather than be something for the sake of it.

Everyone, regardless of age, knowledge, experience, or formal training, deserves to earn a living wage. We should not tolerate a society that does not even guarantee working people’s right to a positive, fruitful, rewarding life.

Is mise le meas,
Criodán Ó Murchú
Peterswell, Co. Galway