Mr. Tom Parlon:

Ms Winters pointed out that labour is 50% of our costs so construction is labour intensive, which is a big difference. In the Senator’s retail business he might have own brands and large multinational brands. In construction one has to tender for a particular job. Having a registered employment agreement or an REO would give better service to the customer because as soon as the REA disappeared and there was a major decline in the industry, the tendering became so intense that in many cases it was below cost. Some projects were not finished and some, unfortunately, were finished to a poor standard. In attempting to keep their business alive through gaining cashflow some people went in below cost and then attempted to cut their wage bills and ended up not paying people. We feel the absence of an REA. When we had it we went regularly to the Labour Court, met our counterparts in the unions and negotiated. The rates went up steadily until 2009, when we got a 7% reduction, which did not represent the nosedive the industry took. Apart from that we thought it was good for our workers.

We have a pension scheme for construction workers and as Ms Winters said, it is very transient work. If one gets a job worth €20 million and takes on 100 guys, they will have to disperse and seek work elsewhere unless one gets another, similar contract immediately. The pension scheme is voluntary. It is not really referred to in this legislation but we hope it will become part of it. That is a good support for construction workers.

It might be easier in later life to work in a shop. While I am not saying it is, construction sites are not the place for people facing retirement . They would certainly appreciate the pension.

If one looks at low-cost retailers, one would be hard set to find a person working in some of the large foreign stores. Everything is stacked high and one finds a person at the cash desk, so the labour element would be very low. In terms of the consumer and the employee, having a registered employment order which creates a level playing field will give a better product to the consumer.