490 jobs created in restaurant sector since July

ALMOST 500 jobs have been created in the restaurant sector since the abolition of wage-setting mechanisms, according to a survey by the Restaurant Association of Ireland.

More than 60 per cent of businesses surveyed said the abolition of the joint labour committee employment regulation order was a factor in hiring the new staff.

In July, the High Court found employment regulation orders, set by joint labour committees, were unconstitutional. It paved the way for individual businesses to negotiate wages with staff. Those affected worked mainly in the catering, hotels, retail and hairdressing sectors.

The members’ survey, carried out in 148 restaurants nationally, found of the 490 jobs created, 270 were in individual restaurants, 150 were in fast-food chain McDonald’s and 70 were in Eddie Rocket’s.

Almost 94 per cent of members said they had passed on a VAT reduction of 4.5 per cent to customers, introduced by the Government at the end of June.

While more than 55 per cent of businesses said their turnover had decreased so far this year compared to 2010, almost 45 per cent said they had seen an increase in turnover.

Adrian Cummins, chief executive of the restaurants association, said any attempts to re-establish the wage-setting mechanisms would be “anti-business, anti-employer and anti-job creation”.

“The joint labour committee system has contributed to jobs being lost in the restaurant sector over the past three years and a reduction in hours worked by those who have held their jobs,” he said. “The system should be abolished in its entirety.”

He said Ireland had the third highest minimum wage rate in Europe and any attempt to resurrect the system would make it one of the “most expensive countries in the EU to create a job”.