John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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I have a few questions myself. To follow on the trail regarding the broadcast workers, the OPW was referenced earlier on and the bicycle shed and the deep embarrassment that whole process brought on the Houses of the Oireachtas, the Members and the staff. The way the broadcast workers have been handled is more embarrassing. When we have workers who do phenomenal work having to stand outside the front gates of where we all work to highlight the unfairness and the fact that they have to sign on not just during the summer recess but also at Christmas time, that has to be deeply embarrassing. It is for me. That is particularly the case in a Parliament that, back in 2018, legislated to ban zero-hour contracts. I would liken the contracts they are on as precarious and similar in nature to zero-hour contracts, something we legislated to ban. When you have workers in this House not knowing on a Monday what hours they will be working that week, it is not just unfair; it is not right. As a Parliament that seeks to ensure workers' rights and entitlements are met and as someone who believes in decent pay for decent work, that causes a lot of issues. I will touch on a couple of points. Reference was made to there being nothing stopping the broadcast workers themselves applying for the tender, and that process has commenced. I put on record that they are precluded from that process. As part of the contract they cannot bid against the current contract and there may also be rules there in terms of company law. I put that on record. Reference was also made to the Workplace Relations Commission and cases currently before the WRC. That process has ended unsuccessfully, unfortunately, for the workers who took their cases before the WRC. At this point, they feel that process has also been exhausted. I will ask a couple of specific questions. Is the current contract that is due to run to the end of the year a five-year contract?