BY ROBBIE MacGABHANN

``An excellent basis on which to build the economic Way Forward in Northern Ireland''. This was the view last week of British economy minister Adam Ingram. He was commenting on a fall in the numbers claiming unemployment benefit as well as increased manufacturing output in the Six Counties.

The Six-County Labour Force Survey (LFS) shows 53,000 people without work in the Six Counties for the period March to May 1999, 7.2% of the workforce. Ingram played up the fact that compared to regions in Britain and the EU as a whole, the rate of unemployment in the Six Counties was lower.

However, the statistics released by the Department of Economic Development (DED) also show serious inequalities in how unemployment is spread around the 26 Counties.

The DED give figures for the numbers of people claiming unemployment benefit throughout the Six Counties. The total figure of claimants is 50,303 or 6.5% of the workforce at the end of June.

The figures can be broken down by council area or by Westminster constituency. Then you find that the constituencies with the highest levels of nationalist representation also produce the highest unemployment rates.

East Belfast has an unemployment rate of 4.7% compared to 16% in West Belfast. Foyle has a 10% unemployment rate, Mid-Ulster's rate is 7.1%. Newry and Armagh registers 8%, rising to 8.4% in South Down and 9.2% in West Tyrone. Compare this to unemployment rates of 3.4% in South Belfast, 3.6% in Lagan Valley, 5.8% in North Antrim, 4.5% in South Antrim and Upper Bann.

Sinn Féin's Mitchel MacLaughlin, commenting on the figures, told An Phoblacht that ``there is a clear imbalance in the experience of unemployment across the Six Counties. These figures show conclusively that the level of unemployment in nationalist communities far surpasses that experienced by most unionist communities.

``The imbalance between unemployment levels in West Belfast and other constituencies is striking. It shows that despite over two decades of so-called fair employment legislation nationalists are still not gettting a fair deal.

``Unemployment fell in East Belfast by over 13% in the year to end of June 1999. The numbers signing on fell by 10.6% in North Belfast, 19.4% South Belfast,while in West Belfast unemployment fell by only 4.4%.

``There were substantial falls in unemployment in some constituencies with a large nationalist population such as West Tyrone, South Down, and Mid-Ulster. However there is still serious imbalances that must be addressed urgently.

``If unemployment is falling as result of a peace dividend for the Irish economy, there is something seriously wrong if that peace dividend is simply replicating existing unemployment inequalities.''

Another aspect of the Labour Force Survey is the level of total unemployment in the Six Counties. The number of people signing on is 50,303. The seasonally adjusted figure is 52,200. However, the surveyors also found another 66,000 people who wanted work but did not fill the International Labour Organisation criteria for being unemployed.

That leaves over 100,000 people in the Six Counties who want to find work but do not have a job. It clearly shows that the economic ``Way Forward'' talked about by Economy minister Adam Ingram has a long way to go before it makes a difference for the nationalist community in the Six Counties.

Six-County Unemployment Figures


Constituency    % of workforce    %change over year
Belfast East    4.7%     -13.3%
Belfast North    4.6%     -10.6%
Belfast South    3.4%     -19.4%
Belfast West    16%     -4.4%
East Antrim    6.7%    -3.4%
East Derry    8%     -11.4%
Fermanagh & South Tyrone    6.6%    -14.8%
Foyle    10%     -12.1%
Lagan Valley    3.6%    16.4%
Mid-Ulster    7.1%     -18.8%
Newry and Armagh    8%     -13.1%
North Antrim     5.8%     -8.6%
North Down    7.3%     -7%
South Antrim    4.5%     -5.4%
South Down    8.4%     -13.5%
Strangford    5.7%     -11.3%
Upper Bann    4.5%     -6.7%
West Tyrone    9.2%     -12.7%
Six Counties    6.5%     -11.3%

Wage double standards

BY ROBBIE MacGABHANN

The double standards applied in wage policy in the 26 Counties is all too evident this week. 625 workers at Tara Mines in Navan agreed to changes in work practices including longer working hours, weekend shifts and a 25% wage cut.

The miners agreed to these changes in order to lower costs for their Finnish owners, Outokompu. Outokompu was losing money because of a huge drop in world zinc prices and the workers were forced to pay the price of these ``international market demands''.

On the other side of this wage equation are the 16 semi state company chief executives who are to get substantial wage rises. The argument in favour of these rises is that their salaries have to be linked to those paid in the private sector. This is a logic that is often not applied to ordinary public sector workers.

We are told that the rises will only apply to chief executives who agree to rolling annual contracts with ``demanding objectives and searching performance reviews''. This is the reality for thousands of Irish workers who do not get the rewards about to be paid to Irish public sector bosses.

Leaks to the media on the new salary guidelines suggest that some public sector bosses will see their salaries almost double. These leaks are all the more interesting because for most workers, the demands of market conditions means that salaries have to be contained, minimised and cut.

Most Irish workers live and bring up families on average wages. The chief executives of semi-state companies already earn wages three, four and five times the average industrial wage. Do they really deserve more money?

Tax cuts for some

BY ROBBIE MacGABHANN

One sob story that just never goes away is the rate of corporation tax paid by Irish businesses. They have throughout the 1990s lobbied successfully for a series of cuts in corporation tax.

The current corporate tax rate for Irish companies is 28%. Companies involved in manufacturing pay a lower rate of 10%. The current Fianna Fáil/Progressive Democrat coalition has promised to change all corporation taxes to a single rate of 12.5%. However a survey by Bloomberg, the business information company, shows that some Irish companies have pre-empted the coalition government and are already paying taxes substantially lower than the official 28% rate.

Elan, the pharmaceutical manufacturer, made $150.3 million last year. It paid only £3.9 million in taxes, a tax rate of 2.6%. This was a decline on 1997 when Elan's tax rate was 0.65%. Greencore, the international agri-business company created out of the state-owned Súicre Eireann paid corporation taxes of only 12.1% of profits.

Tony O'Reilly's Waterford Wedgwood company managed to cut its tax bill to just over 13% of profits. Other companies who managed to breach the 28% barrier included Anglo Irish Bank, Irish life, Green Properties, Hibernian, Glanbia, Kerry, Fyffes, IAWs, Kingspan, Cement Roadstone, Ryanair, First Active , Independent and Smurfit's.