Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 21 June 2016

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Revised)

5:00 pm

Photo of Pat BreenPat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The industrial relations machinery to resolve disputes has been set up in the past 12 months . We have seen the workings of the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. One can see the difference they have made by comparing the number of days lost through industrial disputes in 2015 with the number of days lost in the first quarter of 2016. One can see that a total 5,115 days were lost due to industrial disputes in the first quarter of 2016, which involved a total of 4,828 workers and four firms. A total of 32,964 days were lost due to industrial disputes in 2015, which involved nine firms and 37,760 workers. Comparing those figures and looking at what has happened this year, it is obvious that the industrial relations machinery works, which is extremely important to note.

The statistics the Deputy mentioned refer to one-day strikes by teachers that involved 27,000 workers and that account for 23,500 of the days lost in 2014.

The second teachers' strike accounts for 98% of the 24,056 days lost. A total of 27,588 workers went on strike between January and March of this year. As many as 27,500 of these were second level teachers striking over the junior cycle reform dispute.

The industrial relations machinery is independent and is part of the success of the Workplace Relations Commission's programme and that of the Labour Court. They have done well to ensure that strikes do not occur. In terms of inspection enforcement, as many as 5,185 inspections were carried out in 2015.

The WRC aims to conduct hearings within three months. It also has an adviser on corporate services, which is important when it comes to ensuring that strikes do not take place. The WRC's advisory service provides advice and assistance to employees, employers and trade unions in situations where there is no trade dispute, which is extremely important.

The WRC also has a conciliation service and a mediation service. The conciliation service helps employers and their employees to resolve disputes when they have failed to reach agreement during their own previous negotiations. The majority of the cases referred to conciliation are settled. If no agreement is reached then the dispute may be referred to the Labour Court. That is the whole idea of the Industrial Relations Act. Machinery has been set in place to ensure we have industrial peace and that impending disputes are settled by the WRC and the Labour Court.

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