Mr. Owen Reidy:

The directive is clear. It speaks about promoting the right to exercise collective bargaining, particularly at sectoral level. Small businesses would fit into the sectoral level while large and medium firms would engage more directly. In this economy, we would be better off if we had what we call co-ordinated bargaining, whereby there is some bargaining at local level in the businesses that have relationships with trade unions and there is bargaining at sectoral level. There are industries that have not taken up that opportunity, of which the hospitality sector is one. There is a joint labour committee, yet the sector refuses to engage. Engaging would be a positive for the sector. Bar a few, the contract cleaning and security employers engage in joint labour committees and they see it as beneficial.

The directive is about adequate wages and it sees collective bargaining as the key to that. We all understand how small businesses are important to the fabric of community life and so on. I do not see the directive as being a Trojan horse to force mandatory trade union recognition in small businesses that have five employees, for example. We are not interested in that. Those small businesses would be best served in their respective sectors, with their representatives engaging with the other side of the labour market – organised labour – on questions of productivity and challenging issues. Taking wages out of competition creates a win-win.

It is not down to IBEC and ICTU, but to this and future Governments to treat this directive properly and promote collective bargaining in a way that is right, sensitive and progressive in the interests of all.