Brian Cowan and Wage Restraint

S

Sunny

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I am well aware of the importance of the need for wage restraint and the need to stay competitive but for some reason it really bugs me when I hear politicians talk about the need for it. We have a guy in the job as Tainaiste whose salary has increased from €95,000 in 1997 to €228,000 in 2007 for the same job talking about the dangers of wage inflation.
 
Plenty of public (and private) sector pay rates have gone up by the same proportion. The rates for top-level directors of major corporations (which the minister in question can quite reasonably be compared to) have increased by far more.
The message is no less important, if five years too late. Gate, closing, and bolted horse all spring to mind. We had our chance and we have blown it. The tears and gnashing of teeth come next
 
€95k to €228k in ten years is a compound annual rate of 9.15%.

Not too many workers in the private sector outside the remuneration committee classes have achieved that.

What they share in common is the ability to set their own salaries.
 
GeneralZod said:
€95k to €228k in ten years is a compound annual rate of 9.15%.

Not too many workers in the private sector outside the remuneration committee classes have achieved that.
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Not too many workers in the private sector control a multi-billion euro budget either.
 
I am a strong beliver that the people who run this Country should be on top dollar, if you want to attract top performer.s you must pay the money, any MD of a top company in Ireland ie Microsoft,Dell,HP, are on 200K plus without question so I think it is only fair the people who run a first world Country should be on top poke.
 

I agree. Peanuts and Monkeys etc
 
Purple said:
Not too many workers in the private sector control a multi-billion euro budget either.
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They may well justify it in some cases, and clearly don't in others.

The problem with Brian Cowan calling for wage restraint is that he's open to the charge of hypocrisy.

228k to run the finances of a small country probably isn't too much, judging his job/salary purely on the basis of responsibilities.
 
Not exactly a meaningful comparison since cabinet ministers are elected and then appointed rather than selected through a head hunting or interview/selection process.
 
I assume his annual expenses for personal driver, accommodation while staying in Dublin etc etc is not included in this 228k figure?
 
ClubMan said:
Not exactly a meaningful comparison since cabinet ministers are elected and then appointed rather than selected through a head hunting or interview/selection process.
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Not all senior management on top whack go through the same interview processes as your average Joe. A lot get there by who they know etc...so are in essence appointed to their positions. I personally know of plenty of instances of this happening...it's fairly common place.

So it may not be a direct comparison but the principal is the same.

Cowans wage is fair given his role. As are his comments on staying competitive. We have already lost a great deal of business to cheaper eastern countries in various sectors (IT etc...). It's important that while also focusing more on knowledge based industries we try to remain as competive as possible from a wage perspective.
 

May be so but are we saying that our politicians work harder or are better than most of their counterparts in Europe if Brian Cowan is talking about Irelands competiveness vis a vis other countries. Will have to confirm the figures but I reckon Brian Cowans salary is close to if not greater than Gordon Brown is earning as Prime Minister of the UK. Certainly our TD's are better paid than MP's. Politicians are just lucky we can't move their jobs to Eastern Europe!!!!

To be honest, I don't argue against paying politicians top money. I guess it just reminds in a way about the lecture from Mr Haughey about tightening the belts while he was off shopping in Paris for his shirts.
 
I can see the arguments that politicians might make for the pay rises over the last ten years (ie Celtic Tiger), but I'll be interested to see if they moderate their wage growth in the future in line with their plan for national wage agreements to do likewise.
 


hear hear. Not to mention the perks and pensions and long summer holidays they have. Many of the equivalent politicians in countries 10 or 15 times the size of Ireland are not paid as much.
 
At the lower end of the pay scale, manual , warehouse, distribution, wages are still fairly competitive and also in high tech, this is because wages have been held down by immigration and competition. The problem in ireland is in the middle and upper sections and in the public sector. This is where the wage restraint is required and this is where government action is needed. It is interesting to note that even though ireland is percieved as a high wage economy 66% of the workforce earns less than the average industrial wage. The average industrial wage is used as a method of benchmarking public sector pay yet the majority of the irish workforce earn less than it.
 
Sunny said:
We have a guy in the job as Tainaiste whose salary has increased from €95,000 in 1997 to €228,000 in 2007 for the same job talking about the dangers of wage inflation.
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You would swear from reading this that Cowen has been Tanaiste since 1997. He was only appointed to the post last month!


Yorky said:
Comparing Brian Cowen to 'heads of industry' is fatuous due to the fact that if they get it wrong their 'heads will roll'. If Brian Cowen gets it wrong what will happen to him??
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Well, Michael McDowell's head rolled...
 
ubiquitous said:
You would swear from reading this that Cowen has been Tanaiste since 1997. He was only appointed to the post last month!
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But the role hasn't changed in 10 years. What is he doing now that the Tanaiste in 1997 wasn't??
 
So if he looses his seat he will keep getting paid? Wow, I didn't know that!
Yorky said:
The problem with modern politics is it attracts career politicians who are often totally inept and wouldn't last five minutes in the 'real world'. Politics is risk free due to the pension structure and the only 'ruin' they face is pride related.
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Spoken like someone who knows bugger all about the day-to-day reality of politics.
Ask anyone who knows a politician well, especially a front bench one or a minister, and see if they think their politician friend/ relation works hard. It's a 7-day a week job where most evenings are taken up as well as their days.
I wouldn't do it for twice the money.
 

I agree with you that it is not an easy job and I didn't start this thread to abuse politicians. I just thought it is ironic that we have a politician lecturing on wage restraint and competiveness when, if we compare his role with his European counterparts, we find he and other politicians are probably the best paid in Europe. Didn't Bertie get about 5 wage increases in a year a couple of years back??
 
Purple said:
I wouldn't do it for twice the money.
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Absolutely...as cynical as I am about Irish politics these people do not have an envious job. Besides the critical eye they are kept under 24-7 by the media it's also a very tough job. This is why politics finds it so hard to recruit top people!

And I wouldn't do it for all the money in Carlow!!!!
 
Yorky said:
From memory the Irish Tanaiste gets more than the US Foreign Secretary and Taoiseach more than the British PM!!
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The problem with the British and American systems is that professional politics is effectively reserved for those who are wealthy enough to afford to forego other forms of employment where their talents, workrate etc. would earn them far more.

The US President's salary is nothing but a token for instance - then again, how does one measure how much money would be needed to compensate in purely financial terms for being the most powerful person in the world? The U.S. President's salary is today at it's lowest inflation-adjusted rate since the Presidency began - see here.

In the U.S., the vast majority of presidents have been independently wealthy. The situation in Britain is slightly different, in that one can enter office being of 'average' means. However, British PM's can console themselves with the fact that historically, their predecessors have absolutely creamed it with directorships etc. from the City once they leave office.

In Ireland until recently anyway we had nothing comparable to the City to lavish directorships on retired senior politicians so in fairness they need a salary comparable with their talents and workrate.

I for one welcome the fact that Irish politicians are relatively well paid, so that our political class is not comprised entirely of independently wealthy individuals.
 
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