THE IRISH CONGRESS of Trade Unions (ICTU) has said that there “should be no scope for tax cuts” and that priority needs to be given to protecting jobs.

This morning, Taoiseach Micheál Martin led a meeting of the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF), which was attended by key business and union representatives.

Speaking to RTÉ following this meeting, ICTU General Secretary Owen Reidy remarked that it was “good to see if the unions, employers and government can work together on this challenging issue”.

“Today’s engagement was to get a sense of what are the priorities for business, and from our point of view, what are the priorities for the trade union movement.”

Wage subsidy scheme

Reidy said that the “first fundamental thing” that needs to be done is to “protect as many jobs as we can”.

He said it was “crucial” to have a scheme that protects worker’s earnings “if workers are going to be laid off because of reduced demand over a period of time”.

He said this was crucial “not just for the workers and their families, but for the wider economy”.

“We need to learn the lessons from 2008 when we didn’t do that,” said Reidy.

Labour TD Duncan Smith yesterday called for a new wage subsidy scheme for sectors that may be impacted by tariffs. 

In response, Tánaiste Simon Harris said he didn’t want to give a “knee-jerk reaction” and that the priority is to “mitigate” the tariff impacts.

Reidy told RTÉ that such a scheme is “within the scope of Ireland and the employers are in agreement with us on that”.

He added that the government said it won’t make any decisions in the short term on that scheme and that the government “will look at that”.

Reidy also remarked that while the pay-related unemployment benefit system, that grants people with strong work history up to €450 per week if they lose their jobs, is welcome, he cautioned that “it’s not going to be enough for this crisis”.

‘No scope for tax cuts’

Meanwhile, Reidy said he “made it very clear to government that there should be no scope for tax cuts”.

“It’s one thing making a tax cut to maintain earnings when wages go up,” said Reidy, “but we’re talking about other tax cuts.

“There’s no point in robbing Peter to pay Paul. What workers want is more services, as opposed to an extra €15 in a tax cut and weaken their wage packet.”

He remarked that the way to improve pay is through collective bargaining.

“We shouldn’t narrow our tax base, we’ve done too much of that and the notion of giving half a billion to the hospitality industry was never sensible,” added Reidy.

Reidy’s remarks on the hospitality industry were in relation to the government cutting VAT for food-led businesses in the next budget from 13.5% to 9%.

“I would rather see that money go to workers who are going to be exposed by these tariffs,” said Reidy, “whether it’s pharmaceuticals and other issues that could affect workers, jobs and skills.”

He added that while it’s important to support the existing Foreign Direct Investment in Ireland, “we need to become less exclusively dependent on it, so the economy, when there are shocks in the future, is less vulnerable and resilient”.

Reidy also called for “sectoral task forces” where trade unions and employers work together at a sectoral level.

SIPTU has issued a similar call to establish a taskforce to protect jobs in the medical devices manufacturing sector which is to be subject to tariffs.

SIPTU Manufacturing Divisional Organiser, Neill McGowan, said that while much attention has been paid to the pharma manufacturing sector and the impact of possible future tariffs, “this threat is now a reality for the over 7,000 of our members producing medical devices”.

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“Government, trade unions and employers must urgently begin to work together so what is now a major external threat to this industry is tackled in a considered but swift manner,” said McGowan.

SIPTU also called for a wage subsidy scheme, similar to that introduced during the Covid pandemic, for companies that experience a considerable fall in turnover.

Spain tariff package

Meanwhile, Reidy praised the tariff package announced yesterday by Spain.

“Spain prime minister Pedro Sanchez works very well with trade unions and employers, and they’re a very progressive government,” said Reidy.

Sanchez yesterday announced a €14.1-billion package to help Spanish sectors hurt by tariffs, which he described as a “unilateral attack” by Washington against Europe.

While Spain’s economy is less reliant on exports to the US than many of its European peers, experts predict the country’s aluminium, olive oil and wine sectors are likely to feel the pinch.

The aid measures Sanchez announced will include a scheme to allow companies affected by the tariffs to maintain their staff until they are able to resume their normal level of activity, like the one put in place during the Covid pandemic.

“We will overcome this unfair crisis. And we will do so without renouncing our values,” Sanches said.

Spain had a trade deficit of €10 billion euros with the US last year, according to economy ministry figures, largely due to massive energy imports.

However, some export sectors are heavily exposed to the US market, with Spain exporting one billion euros worth of olive oil to the United States last year, for example.

-With additional reporting from © AFP 2025