Source: Shutterstock/Mouaad Jaaidi

IRELAND HAS THE third highest proportion of workers who are on low pay out of 36 mostly-European members, according to analysis by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Approximately 23% of Ireland’s full-time workforce is on what is categorised as low pay, or earning less than two thirds of median earnings, according to 2017 figures.

That represents around 100,000 workers in Ireland. The average wage in Ireland is calculated as €42,889, based on 2018 figures (this is not the same as the median).

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Jobs, Workers’ Rights and Pay Equality, Maurice Quinlivan said the research highlighted the “urgent need” for a living wage in Ireland.

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The living wage is an amount needed to maintain a normal standard of living, when the cost of groceries, fuel, and other bills are taken into account. Currently the living wage in Ireland is estimated to be €12.30 an hour.

Quinlivan said that the OECD figures confirmed that “a huge number of workers across Ireland are poorly paid and struggling to afford basic day-to-day necessities”.

This is well above the OECD average of 15.6% and it portrays Ireland as an exception when it comes to good pay for workers.

These figures confirm the economic recovery has bypassed a huge portion of our society.

“Proper wages and the eradication of precarious working practices must be the essential foundations of economic growth and productivity moving forward.”