Mr. Tim Fenn:

The Senator asked us to comment on JLCs. Those committees were completely frustrating to employers when they were in use. There were some 800 determinations based on the outcome of the requirement or the ask of the unions. Probably one or two were at the ask of the employers. In theory, a JLC will have the employers' representatives', the employees' representatives and an independent chairman. The independent chairman takes the submissions from both sides and then comes up with some kind of a recommendation. That goes to the Labour Court and, with the new structure, it then has to go the Minister for Justice and Equality. In the process of discovery in a previous case at the JLC, we found that the case submitted to the Labour Court did not include the employer's case. Full stop. There is no trust in how the JLCs work. In addition, we now have the national minimum wage, the Low Pay Commission and the structures that deal with that aspect. Within our industry we also have a structure, the quality employer programme, where we engage in what we believe to be best practice. It is our wish to make our industry an industry of preference for people. If we consider it from the macro point of view, in 2011 there was some 114,000 people employed in accommodation and food services, now there are 180,000 people employed. When we gross that figure up into tourism, there are now 270,000 people employed in tourism in Ireland. It is a massive success story. That happens because employers look after their people, and they are the best people to look after their people. If there is full employment Ireland, and if there is a massive increase in the amount of money going to the employees now, then this is a good thing. Maybe not all employers are happy with that, but this is the way it is. The reason we do not engage with JLCs is because those structures are for the past. They did not work for employers.