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

It has been my experience that when an REA is no longer functioning, while it may not affect the contract of the individual who worked under the REA, we all know what happens in the workforce - other individuals can be employed and have different terms and conditions, and those terms and conditions can be more competitive from the employers’ perspective, and there can be displacement of what in the eyes of the employer are more uncompetitive contracts.

While the Minister of State’s last point is valid to a certain extent, it does pose challenges to the worker. There is a balance to be struck between the employer and employee and it is important to be fair to both sides. On many occasions, however, the legislation is skewed in favour of the employer. A three-month notice to a worker of a change in the climate in which that worker works is decent practice. If the union cannot come up with the goods on why that decision is incorrect, the decision is enforced. That is a rebalancing in favour of the employee’s needs and rights.