Vol. 460 No. 3
526 Mr. D. McDowell asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the positions and sectors to which minimum wage regulations apply; the level of pay concerned; and if he will give a breakdown by sector of the number of people affected by such regulation. [1417/96]
Minimum rates of pay apply to certain workers in the following industries covered by the Joint Labour Committee system under the following employment regulation orders, EROs: aerated waters and wholesale bottling; agriculture; brush and broom; catering, excluding the County Borough of Dublin and the Borough of Dún Laoghaire; contract cleaning, City and County of Dublin; hair-dressing, Cork County Borough; hairdressing, County and County Borough of Dublin, the Borough of Dún Laoghaire and the Urban District of Bray; handkerchief and household piece goods; hotels, excluding the County Boroughs of Dublin and Cork and the Borough of Dún Laoghaire; law clerks; provender milling; retail grocery and allied trades; shirtmaking; tailoring and women's clothing and millinery.
In addition, minimum rates of pay apply to certain workers in the following industries covered by registered employment agreements, REAs; construction industry; electrical industry, Dublin and Dún Laoghaire footwear, drapery and allied trades and the printing industry.
The level of pay varies from a minimum of £35.52 per week for first year apprentice hairdresser in Cork to a maximum of £232.62 per week for a managing clerk in a solicitor's office. Due to the detailed level of pay scales in the various industries covered I have placed a copy of each of the EROs and REAs in the Library of the Houses of the Oireachtas, where they are available to the Deputy.
My Department estimates that the number of workers currently affected by minimum wage rates is approximately 150,000. It is not possible to give an up to date breakdown by sector within the time available to prepare this reply.
