Vol. 442 No. 2
81 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment if his attention has been drawn to the recent call made by the women's conference of ICTU on 2 March 1994, for the introduction of a legal minimum wage to help bridge the gap between male and female earnings; if so, his response to the call; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I am aware of the motion adopted by the Women's Conference of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions which was held on 4-5 March 1994. I am anxious that any differential in wage rates between males and females, based on gender discrimination, should be eliminated. However, I am not certain that this would necessarily be achieved by the imposition of a statutory minimum wage. Research on the experience of the introduction of a statutory minimum wage in other countries has shown that it can have a negative impact on employment levels. In this light and having regard to the current high levels of unemployment, I consider that it would be unwise to introduce any measures of this nature which could affect the prospects of those in or seeking employment, whether men or women.
Recent research, conducted under the auspices of the ERSI, has shown that the existence of a wage differential between men and women can be attributed to a number of reasons, not all of which are based on discriminatory practices. In contemplating the reasons for the existence of a differential, factors such as age, labour market experience and hours of work must be considered.
