Low pay and precarious work create income crisis for women in Ireland

Published: Thursday, March 19, 2015

The National Women’s Council of Ireland today responded to the Nevin Economic Research Institute’s (NERI) latest quarterly economic bulletin which highlighted that 60 % of low paid workers are women.

Alice-Mary Higgins, Policy Officer with NWCI stated,
“NERI’s recent commentary again confirms the fact that a majority of low paid workers are women, something that has long been highlighted by NWCI and our members. In addition to the low hourly rates, there is also the question of how many hours you might work. Women are experiencing a dangerous erosion in the quality and security of jobs. Many women are struggling with insecure non-fixed hour contracts. Sectors such as retail and hospitality, where most workers are women, are at the frontline of aggressive casualisation, as recently highlighted by Dunnes Stores workers.”

She continued,
“NERI highlight that 25% of all workers are on less than a living wage of €11.45 per hour. However when you look at annual earnings the figures become far worse, with CSO statistics telling us that 50% of all women workers earn €20,000 or less.  It is also very important to note that the €11.45 calculation is based on a single person and does not reflect any childcare costs, a huge concern for many women. “

She added,
“Recent ESRI research found that women in couples experienced a 14% drop in income compared with 9% of men during the recession, with pay and recruitment freezes in the public service, where many women work, a major contributing factor. European Commission figures also tell us that the gender pay gap is growing , from 12.6% in 2009 to 14.4% in 2012. “

Alice Mary Higgins concluded,
“All this is growing evidence of an income crisis for women in Ireland. NWCI believes it is essential that the Government bring a gender perspective to all areas of economic policy, invest into childcare, attach strong social clauses to public spending and ensure the voices of women workers are at the heart of the Low Pay Commission.”

Ends/
For more information, please contact Silke Paasche, Head of Communications, NWCI, Tel. 085 858 9104.