Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I should like to speak to amendment No. 49, if possible. The Minister of State will be aware if an employee - any employee - has a contract and an ability to work only with one employer. The nature of that relationship will be quite different than if a worker has the ability to work with a number of different employers.

It leaves the door wide open for exploitation. If we had a choice, we would not accept that we had to work for one employer but would choose to go from employer to employer to improve our conditions or even as leverage to guarantee that our rights are maintained. The bondage, which is literally part of this process, in tying the employee to the employer is a negative element. I do not see the logic of preventing an employee from being able to work for a different employer within the same sector because we are basically looking at many of the rights to work on the basis of sectors and needs within those sectors. If the Minister of State had a choice, would he like to be tied to one employer or would he like the option to work with other employers? How does he think his rights would be affected?