John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The delegates are welcome. My party and I are very critical of the general scheme of the Bill because it does not aim to address the serious and widespread issues workers are experiencing. I take issue with some of the contributions made by certain organisations, some of which are not represented at this meeting, on the extent of the problem. There is a significant amount of evidence that workers have serious concerns and are experiencing the theft of what rightfully belongs to them. The general scheme of the Bill really does nothing because it does not address the core issues surrounding the service charge, about which I have specific questions for Mr. Fenn and Mr. Cummins. We know that under the National Minimum Wage Act, it is illegal to use tips to top up workers' pay. That is a non-issue in terms of the general scheme of the Bill which, essentially, aims to ensure premises put up signs in the window on a voluntary basis. That is certainly not acceptable. I wish to hone in on comments Mr. Fenn made on the service charge. Does he believe it just and fair that a service charge permitted under the National Minimum Wage Act be used to pay workers their base rate of pay?