Dr. Kara McGann:

I thank the joint committee for the opportunity to address them following the comprehensive recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality.

IBEC has a long track record of working on the issues of gender equality and developing policy and resources to tackle barriers facing women in the labour market. While progress has been made in many areas, there continues to be more work to do. Regarding recommendations No. 32 and 33, the roots of a gender pay gap are multiple and complex, symptomatic of how we think of men, women and gender across society. The gender pay gap calculates the difference in the average hourly wages of all men and women across a workforce, not just those in same jobs, with the same working patterns or the same competencies or experience. It does not indicate discrimination or bias, or even an absence of equal pay for equal value work, but it does report a gender representation gap.

IBEC supports the aim to reduce the hourly gender pay gap through targets, but it is difficult to see how this will be achieved if only the business community is targeted given the underlying structural, policy and cultural causes. Effective policy development must consider how men and women participate in the labour market, including pre-labour-market areas such as education; culture and biases around the jobs and careers men and women have; the responsibility for child and long-term care and how this impacts on outcomes.

We welcome the introduction of the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021, but it has been a difficult journey, because while organisations have known about reporting for some time, the Irish methodology, which is very different from other jurisdictions, was only published in June. In addition, major concerns regarding clarity within the reporting requirements have been raised and have needed significant and ongoing follow-up.

Gender pay gap reporting alone will not identify or solve the myriad challenges but has the potential to offer a real diagnostic tool to highlight the relevant issues for targeted interventions by all stakeholders. However, without a whole-of-society approach, progress will be limited and an opportunity for real change will be wasted.

With regard to recommendation 34, IBEC believes that a five-year timeline with a high degree of flexibility in determining annual rates, while still challenging, would be realistic if Ireland is to transition to a living wage. The effects of moving to a living wage on both total-hours-worked and employment should be reviewed by the Low Pay Commission, LPC, annually over the timeline of its introduction with a particular focus on any loss of employment or hours of work resulting from an increased living wage. We share the view of the Parliament that consideration should be given to the impacts on small, and indeed all, businesses, particularly those within the most affected sectors such as hospitality and retail.

Proposed changes would impose a greater regulatory and administrative cost burden on companies, particularly on SMEs, in inputting hours on a payroll basis. The ability to make these changes and the phasing of them must be borne in mind when initiating the transition to a living wage.

With regard to recommendation 35 Ireland has a strong voluntarist industrial relations framework which has been effective in times of both economic growth and recession. Reform of the legislation has introduced sectoral employment orders; affirmed joint labour committees and registered employment agreements; and clarified the circumstances in which a trade union may refer a trade dispute to the Labour Court for a legally binding outcome. Therefore, while employers can choose whether or not to negotiate with a trade union or engage in collective bargaining, there may be real consequences for refusing to do so, namely a legally enforceable determination by the Labour Court.

In parallel with reforms, Ireland has introduced a significant body of statutory employment rights governing everything from working hours, to sick pay, so it is increasingly difficult to identify traditional areas of collective negotiation that are not now regulated by statute. While IBEC, does not support the proposal, we have been working progressively with the trade union movement, under the auspices of the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, collective bargaining group, to promote and address any obstacles to collective bargaining in our current framework. This work has proposed a set of recommendations that demonstrate the best aspects of our industrial relations, IR, systems and recognises the success of the voluntarist model underpinned by a highly developed dispute resolution mechanism.

We strongly support an effective enforcement framework across all aspects of regulation. It is imperative that regulation is equally applied to ensure a fair and balanced competitive environment. The resourcing needs of the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, should be kept under regular review to ensure that they are adequate.

I move on finally to recommendation 36. It is questionable whether it is necessary to introduce a statutory right to access flexible working. If the intention is to provide a framework for employers and employees, then best practice guidance in a code of practice would provide a much more agile and flexible way to address this area.

Business recognises the benefits that flexible working solutions can bring to a workplace, including sustainability; attracting and retaining best talent; and promoting a healthy work-life balance, to name but a few. However, it is imperative to balance the importance of reconciling professional and private life with the need to sustain employment and economic competitiveness. While many employers can and will offer remote working conditions to employees, remote working simply cannot be facilitated in some sectors and by some employers.

The business case for gender equality is well established and while much has been achieved, momentum seems to have stalled in recent years. IBEC looks forward to engaging further in this work towards gender balance and supporting an Ireland that enables women and girls to fulfil their potential including in the workplace.