Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It has been the consistent policy of successive Irish Governments to promote collective bargaining through the laws of this country and through the development of an institutional framework supportive of a voluntary system of industrial relations that is premised upon freedom of contract and freedom of association. An extensive range of statutory provisions have been put in place designed to provide the legislative support for such a framework. By its nature, such a framework evolves in response to changing social, economic and legal circumstances.

The programme for Government contained a commitment to "reform the current law on employees' rights to engage in collective bargaining (the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001, so as to ensure compliance by the State with recent judgments of the European Court of Human Rights". Both the Industrial Relations Act 2001 and its associated Act of 2004 were enacted to provide a mechanism by which the fairness of the employment conditions of workers in their totality could be assessed and to provide protection for employees initiating action in this regard. However, the 2007 decision of the Supreme Court in Ryanair v. the Labour Court cast doubt on the functionality of the Acts and had a chilling effect on their usage.

In addition, following the publication of the programme, the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association issued its report in response to a complaint referred to it by ICTU and IMPACT, arising from the Ryanair Supreme Court judgment. As part of my response to the ILO, I indicated that these matters would be addressed in the context of a review of the operation of the Acts. Acting on the commitment in the programme has required consultation with stakeholders, including employer and worker representatives in the context of their experience of the operation of the existing legislative framework. In late 2012, I requested key stakeholders to make submissions on the matter. Over the course of the last year several comprehensive submissions and presentations have been received from a range of interested parties, ranging from trade union representatives, employer representatives, State bodies and others. These submissions contained a range of often conflicting but rationally espoused positions submitted constructively in response to my invitation.

Further engagement between my officials and stakeholders is currently underway, with a view to developing proposals to bring to the Cabinet shortly. I hope to be in a position to bring forward legislative proposals in the very near future.

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