Leading Irish employer calls for five-year pay freeze

One of the country’s leading employers has called for a five-year pay freeze in a bid to restore Ireland’s lost competiveness.

Speaking at a conference on the Irish economy last week, Sean O’Driscoll, chief executive of Glen Dimplex, manufacturer of electrical heaters with 8,500 employees worldwide and 450 in Ireland, said national wage agreements served a purpose initially but had been excessive in the past few years.