Ms Fionnuala Ní Bhrógáin:

I will take the question. It is important for all content moderators and all workers in Ireland to understand that whether their employer chooses to recognise a trade union, they have a right to join a trade union. That is enshrined in the Constitution whether their employer likes it or not. They have the right to be individually represented by the trade union and to seek advice and guidance from it. However, as was correctly stated, because of our voluntarist system, the employer is not required to engage. I know that discussions taking place in Europe at the moment are looking to address the voluntarist system. I see Deputy O'Reilly has joined us again. Members who are trade union organisers themselves understand that the bread and butter of organising workers is meeting them, sitting down with them and getting them to tell their stories, listening to them and understanding what their issues are so that the organiser can empower them to address those issues and lift them up in their workplace as a collective. If organisers cannot get content moderators to meet with them or speak to them because they are so afraid of the consequences of being caught then that highlights the difficulty of organising what are clearly some of the most unprotected workers currently in Ireland.

It has felt nearly insurmountable sometimes as a trade union when we meet a couple of workers. It speaks to a question one of the other contributors asked earlier in terms of the length of service and attrition. By the time we get somebody to trust us so that he or she can speak to us in a confidential manner and will not be exposed, the damage that has been done to that person means he or she can no longer stay in that employment, and that person is gone and we start all over again.

It is, therefore, enormously challenging. It would be nice to go back to the old days of the old telecoms and logistics companies where there is a tradition of respecting the workers' collective voice. As I mentioned earlier, however, this is a new form of work and these are global giants, which I believe requires a legislative response. I hope that answers the Senator's question.