IBEC: Minimum wage posters rotten to the 'Coir'
IBEC has said that the claim from anti-Lisbon Group Coir on its posters that the Lisbon Treaty will result in the minimum wage in Ireland being reduced to €1.84 per hour was "a blatant lie, without foundation and an insult to the intelligence of Irish voters".
IBEC is calling on Coir to remove the posters following an interview by Coir spokesman Brian Hickey on RTE's 'Drivetime' programme in which he said that the Lisbon Treaty would "have no effect" on the Irish minimum wage.
According to Brendan Butler, IBEC's Director of EU and International Affairs the claim is "without any foundation and is a cynical attempt to scare voters with deliberate misinformation".
Mr Butler said: "The EU has absolutely no role in setting the minimum wage, it is a matter for each individual country. Ireland has the second highest minimum wage in Europe, and this is set by the Irish Government.
"The Lisbon Treaty does not change this and the European Court of Justice has absolutely no role in respect of individual countries statutory pay arrangements."
