Our submission to Government for the 2025 Budget

While the economy may be producing enormous surpluses in the last number of years this does not always lead to better outcomes for workers and their families. A Budget provides a moment in time that can change the circumstances and life of people for the better or it can be a missed opportunity which can cause division and hardship. Dramatic changes have occurred in the workplace over the last five years with remote working becoming normal practice and more family friendly polices being introduced by employers. These changes have occurred predominantly through dialogue between employers and trade unions. Collective bargaining is the best means to achieve a positive outcome for both employers and employees. It is disappointing that IBEC cannot adopt a more progressive approach to dialogue and follow the lead set by the President of Ireland and the current President of America in recognising the positives of collective bargaining. The current Irish Government have the opportunity through legislating for a worker centric transposition of  the EU Directive on Minimum Wage which would  leave an indelible worker centric imprint on their time in Government.

This pre budget submission will concentrate on a number of family friendly workplace policies which if agreed by Government would make the workplace a better, fairer and welcoming place to work. We will also outline our views on the banking levy, the reintroduction of tax relief for union membership, the continuation of the increase in the benefit/voucher to €1,000 tax free, increased maternity leave, the creation of a collective bargaining support fund, increase in the home working allowance, making menopause treatment medications freely available and the reinstatement of the free voucher scheme for connected hubs.

Click the link to read and download our Budget 2025 submission: https://www.fsunion.org/assets/files/pdf/budget_2025.pdf