Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Section 9(5) of the Bill provides that the Labour Court may cancel the registration of an employment agreement if it is satisfied that a trade union that was a party to the agreement is no longer substantially representative of the workers concerned.

The purpose of amendment No. 7 is to require the court to give three months’ notice to the trade union of its decision and to allow for an appeal of the decision within six weeks.

Any consideration by the Labour Court as to whether a trade union is no longer substantially representative of the workers concerned would require the court to engage with the trade union in advance and consider submissions from the union on the issue. In this regard, the trade union would have advance notice of the Labour Court’s consideration of the issue. Moreover, it is not considered appropriate to allow an REA to remain in place for three months after it has been determined by the Labour Court that a trade union is no longer substantially representative of the workers involved.

It is also important to remember that a cancellation of the registration of an employment agreement does not affect an individual worker’s entitlement to the terms of an REA under his or her personal contract of employment, which can only be changed by agreement between the worker and employer. Accordingly, I cannot accept this amendment.