Irish wage rise fear - farmers weekly
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11 FEBRUARY 2000 ------------------------- IRISH WAGE RISE FEAR IRISH farmers are battling to prevent the cost of wage rises in the food sector being passed back to producers which could see
an estimated £150m sliced off the price paid for produce. Pat ORourke, president of the Family Farm Association says the governments economic development plan to increase pay by 15% in the
food sector over the next three years was bad news for farming. He believes many companies would fund the proposed rise by cutting input costs and therefore passing the bill back to
agriculture. "We have told government that cannot happen, especially as many farms have already seen income cut by 20%. Instead, it must be financed by increased efficiency in the food
processing sector," says Mr ORourke. *