Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the delegates for attending. I noticed that Mr. Cummins made a specific point about different sectors and stated his organisation only represented one sector of the food and drinks industry. The Low Pay Commission stated it did not carry out a broad examination of how bad the position was in the restaurant industry. As a result, its report does not stand on its own merits. It does not really reflect what is happening because I know that certain unions consulted staff in restaurants and other businesses in Dublin city in the past week or so and found that many workers were not happy with their conditions or were very insecure in their terms of work. Such insecurity arises from issues such as the fact that workers have no security in their first year of employment and can be sacked at any time, as well as the fact that some workers feel very intimidated. It does not surprise me that few cases have been taken to the Workplace Relations Commission in these circumstances.

The situation at The Ivy restaurant which is nearby was all over the newspapers. As such, it is not a surprise to anybody. When I raised with the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the issue of tips being used to part-pay the difference between the national minimum wage and workers' contracted wages, she was quite clear that such a practice was illegal. Within one month the restaurant mentioned extended its service charge of 12.5% for tables of five or more to all tables. It effectively cut out the opportunity for workers to receive tips. No one will leave a tip on top of a service charge because, as Deputy Brady pointed out, people assume the service charge goes to the worker at some stage. With particular reference to the restaurant industry, do the delegates think a restaurant should be allowed to use a service charge for its own purposes when customers have the impression that the money will go to the worker responsible for their service? It is a service charge.