Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I respect the views of the Minister of State on these matters. He appreciates the issue at the heart of the two amendments in my name. They aim to ensure there is a functioning role for representative trade unions in the workplace. My concern is not that we should not provide for the exception. It is that the exception may become the norm and a lesser value could be placed on the positive and constructive work done by the trade union movement in many workplaces.

Trade unions do not just represent the grievances of members but take a constructive part in the resolution of difficulties when they arise in the workplace. That cannot be done on an individual basis. Often it requires an outside organiser of a collective to bring mavericks to heel and sanity to a situation, which is not the case when one is dealing on a bilateral basis with individuals.

That role has worked effectively in many workplaces and must be recognised. The economic well-being of the State has come about through a partnership process. The amendments aim to ensure partnership continues. One element of it cannot be written out because we are now so organised and progressive that we can do without it. To follow such a course would be at our peril.

While the Minister of State may not go as far as I would on these matters, he still shares the same overall viewpoint on the value of organised labour. I am concerned that he would not seek to address it more overtly than he has in the Bill. It is not my intention to do away with the prospect of a consultative process outside the trade union norms where there is good management. My concern is that it may become the norm itself rather than the exception.

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