LESS THAN 10 per cent of retail employers plan on giving their employees a pay rise this year but these increases are unique to a couple of grocery multiples and “are not indicative of the pay intentions of the vast majority of retail industry operators,” says David Fitzsimons CEO of Retail Excellence Ireland.
REI questioned over 300 retail companies, which have over 3,000 stores and employ 55,000 people, for their Retail Industry Labour Pay Rate Intentions survey.
The results also show that less than 10 per cent of employers will cut pay this year in a sector that has already lost 60,000 jobs since 2007 and four out of five employers plan on retaining current pay rates in 2013.
More than 17 per cent will, in the coming year, reduce allowances such as bonuses and overtime rates as they struggle with significant operating costs and decreasing consumer demand.
Fitzsimons believes that the Government are part of the blame:
We have clearly stated to successive Government that the continued existence of upward only rent reviews is causing significant damage to job numbers and pay rates in the retail industry – the majority of retail tenants now pay more on their rent than on their total labour force.
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