LABOUR HAS ROUNDED on what it has called a “predictable” row back from Fine Gael which has moved to scrap the expansion of workers’ paid sick leave. 

In what could be viewed as one of the first key division lines which might prevent the two parties entering into a coalition in the next government, Labour has said Fine Gael has had to be “dragged kicking and screaming towards any piece of positive protections for workers”.

Taoiseach Simon Harris conceded at his party’s manifesto launch in Tipperary yesterday that his party has decided upon a “change in approach”. 

He confirmed that workers’ annual entitlement to paid sick leave will remain at five days under its manifesto plans.

It marks a U-turn in the party’s policy pledges after its former leader Leo Varadkar previously said it will rise to 10 days sick leave in a year by 2026.

The Sick Leave Act 2022 introduced a statutory right to paid sick leave for the first time and was to be phased in from 2023 to 2026.

Employees are currently entitled to up to five days’ employer-paid sick leave in a year, paid at 70% of gross salary up to a cap of €110 per day.

This was set to be increased to seven days next year and to 10 days in 2026.

The manifesto stated that any expansion will depend on “further research and must be affordable for businesses”.

Harris said yesterday the decision was “appropriate”.

“My party in this government introduced statutory sick and I’m pleased that we did introduce that scheme.

“But we also have to make sure that we protect jobs and what we have said is we’ll carry out an analysis in terms of economic impact before it moves further,” he said. 

Labour's Ivana Bacik and Marie Sherlock. RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

Labour workers’ rights spokesperson and Dublin Central candidate Marie Sherlock has said the promise laid down by Varadkar “seems to have been forgotten about in Fine Gael’s manifesto”.

No action to protect low income workers

“Labour has consistently highlighted that Fine Gael are all talk and no action when it comes to supporting and protecting working people, particularly those on low and middle incomes.

“In 2022, I called out Fine Gael for failing to legislate to provide ten days sick leave into the future. My fears have come to pass,” she said. 

Sherlock hit out at Harris’ party yesterday, stating that Fine Gael has spent the first week of this campaign “attempting to bribe people with their own money”.

“Offering newborn children a bank account while giving them no hope of having a house.

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“Fine Gael have had to be dragged kicking and screaming towards any piece of positive protections for workers. And here we see again the party of business turning their backs on working people,” she said. 

Government formation 

It is understood that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil had been eyeing up Labour as a possible future coalition partner, depending on the numbers after the election.

The Labour Party, which also launched its manifesto yesterday, has a number of notable differences in their manifesto compared to Fine Gaels. There is no commitment to tax cuts, while it is a core pillar in Harris’ plan.

Instead, the Labour Party states it will invest on big ticket items such as infrastructure, childcare and rolling out a national construction company. 

As the election campaign enters into its second week, parties will begin to assess and focus on what other parties might be palatable to enter into government with. 

One of the first of the key debates of the election will take place this evening on RTÉ, where ten party leaders will take part. 

Harris has called on the Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald to publish the party’s manifesto ahead of the debate.

The Fine Gael leader accused McDonald of “cynicism” in not publishing the party’s general election proposals before the televised debate.