Press Release
Living Wage Seminar
The Living Wage Technical Group are hosting a seminar to discuss the context, strategies, options and challenges around achieving a Living Wage for workers in Ireland
Title ‘Strategies on Getting a Living Wage’
Date 4th March 2020
Time 10.00am – 12.30pm
Venue Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland,
63 Merrion Square, Dublin 2, D02 X338
Speakers will include:
• Graham Griffiths, Head of Partnerships, UK Living Wage Foundation
• Robert Thornton, Senior Research and Policy Officer, VPSJ
• Michael Taft, Researcher, SIPTU
• Michelle Murphy, Research and Policy Analyst, Social Justice Ireland
The presentations will be followed by a Q&A session and concludes at 12.30 pm.
A Living Wage is intended to establish an hourly wage rate that should provide employees with sufficient income to achieve an agreed acceptable minimum standard of living.
In recent years, the concept of Living Wage has entered the political and public discourse and this seminar provides an opportunity to explore the context, strategies, options and challenges around achieving a Living Wage for workers in Ireland.
Registration begins at 10.00 am. This event is free.
Notes to editor
The Living Wage for the Republic of Ireland was established in 2014, and is updated in July of each year. It is part of a growing international trend to establish an evidence-based hourly income that a full-time worker needs so that they can experience a socially acceptable minimum standard of living.
The 2019/20 Living Wage rate is €12.30 per hour, it was published by the Living Wage Technical Group in July 2019.
The Living Wage Technical Group was established in March 2014 and worked to establish a methodology for calculating the Republic of Ireland Living Wage – launched in July 2014. The group comprises researchers and academics. The 2019 update is the fifth annual update of the figure.
The Living Wage is set by the Living Wage Technical Group based on research identifying the Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) in Ireland, conducted by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice (VPSJ).
The Living Wage is an earnings floor, it represents the average hourly salary a single full-time worker needs to afford a minimum essential basket of goods and services. It is informed by research working with members of the public to identify what is needed for a socially acceptable minimum standard of living, agreeing the minimum level which nobody should be expected to live below.
A document detailing the Living Wage 2019/20 figure is available on the living wage website: https://www.livingwage.ie/download/pdf/living_wage_2019_-_4_page_document.pdf
A technical document detailing the calculation methodology is also available on the living wage website: https://www.livingwage.ie/documents/technical-document.html
CONTACTS
The following members of the Living Wage Technical Group are available for media comment:
Robert Thornton, VPSJ 087 2493055
The Living Wage Technical Group is supported by:
Nevin Economic Research Institute; SIPTU; Social Justice Ireland; Society of St. Vincent de Paul; TASC
Unite the Union; UCD School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice; Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice