Ms Maeve McElwee:

My concern is not about the preference order. It is about the impact of restructuring part of that preference order. We are trying to add a statutory element to a voluntarily negotiated agreement and then giving that a priority order. This is the aim of the Bill as I read it. My key concern is not about the priority order - any business is free to negotiate any amount of ex gratiapayment - but about the fact we are trying to convert a negotiated agreement and make it a statutory obligation. First and foremost there is a big industrial relations framework behind this that would need significant amending. It would also give a preferential right to employees who have a collective agreement to the detriment of any employee who does not have a collective agreement and give priority to that payment. There is an inherent unfairness-----