SIPTU's calls for wage increases for workers have been labelled 'reckless, foolish and at odds with economic reality'.

SIPTU's president, Jack O'Connor, has said that in the coming months his union will embark on a "major campaign" for pay increases of 5% across the economy.

In a speech to mark the commemoration of the death of Jim Larkin in 1947, Mr O'Connor also said that the union would also engage "in a new battle to establish a minimum living wage of €11.45 an hour across all those sectors of the economy, where the gross exploitation of vulnerable workers is the order of the day."

The current minimum wage here stands at €8.65 per hour.

He added that SIPTU members will begin "a national campaign to apply pressure on the government to start abolishing the Universal Social Charge (USC) and replacing it with a new mechanism which will be equally efficient as a means of raising revenue from the better off while removing the burden on those on low to middle incomes."

Jack O'Connor says putting more money in people's pockets will speed up the recovery:

Responding to the comments from SIPTU, business group IBEC said suggestions that either business or government could afford to award 5% pay rises this year were "reckless, foolish and utterly detached from economic reality."

The group said many companies remain in survival mode, and that keeping costs under control is vital to sustaining existing employment and creating new jobs.

IBEC CEO Danny McCoy said: "Talk of widespread large pay rises is ludicrous, when the country is only starting to get back on its feet."

"Clearly lessons have not been learnt from the crisis. The economy in money terms is still about 6% below its pre-crisis levels and overall prices are below where they were in summer 2008."

"It is vital that we don't lose the hard fought competitive gains of recent years. The focus must be on job creation," he added.

Mr McCoy says that this campaign is not realistic.

Originally posted at 11.56am