Mr. Denis Hynes:

SIPTU is in favour of collective bargaining. All of the unions have an ongoing campaign on collective bargaining and within congress for the past number of decades. Collective bargaining is paramount. As outlined by Mr. Berney, there is a provision to put a JLC or and employment regulation order in place to recognise and deal with collective bargaining right across the hospitality sector.

Workers are treated badly. Post pandemic, as full-time officials in all of the trade unions that are involved in hospitality, we are witnessing it even more. We in SIPTU experience it every day.

In housekeeping, for example, if someone was cleaning five or six rooms within a set timeframe, that person is now being asked to clean seven or eight rooms. A lot of pressure is being put on working people in the hospitality sector because there is an issue with recruitment that has to be addressed. We cannot leave people exposed the way they are any longer. That is why there is universal acceptance that, from the outset, collective bargaining has to be part of a new employer regulation order-joint labour committee which is badly needed now in the system.