Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I move amendment No. 35:

In page 12, to delete lines 33 to 49 and in page 13, to delete lines 1 to 11 and substitute the following:

"13.—(1) An employer shall not do any act (whether of commission or omission) that, on objective grounds, adversely affects the interests of the employee or his or her well being in relation to the performance of his or her functions as an employee representative in accordance with this Act.

(2) An employee representative shall be afforded any reasonable facilities, including paid time off, that will enable him or her to perform his or her functions as employees' representative promptly and efficiently. Employee representatives will also, subject to the provisions of section 14, have the facility to avail of the assistance of experts and such experts may accompany employee representative to meetings of the employee forum when requested. Following the passing of this act and no later than six months following its enactment, the Minister following consultations with representatives of employers and workers will make regulations setting out the minimum facilities to be afforded to employee representatives by their employers.

(3) An employee, a trade union, an excepted body on behalf or with the consent of the employee may present a compliant to a rights commissioner that the employer has contravened subsection (1) in relation to an employee.

(4) A complaint under subsection (3) shall be presented by giving notice of it in writing to a rights commissioner.

(5) Where a complaint is presented to a rights commissioner under subsection (4) the rights commissioner shall—

(a) give the parties an opportunity to be heard and to present any evidence relevant to the complaint,

(b) give a decision in writing in relation to the complaint,

(c) communicate the decision to the parties, and

(d) furnish the Court with a copy of the decision.

(6) A decision of a rights commissioner under subsection (5) shall do one or more of the following:

(a) declare that the complaint is or, as the case may be, is not well founded;

(b) direct that the conduct the subject of the complaint cease;

(c) require the respondent to take such action as in the opinion of the rights commissioner is just and equitable in the circumstances and which may include the payment to the complainant of compensation of such amount which, the opinion of the rights commissioner, is just and equitable but not exceeding 2 years remuneration in respect of the employee's employment.

(7) A complaint under this section may not be presented to a rights commissioner after the end of the period of 6 months from the occurrence or, as the case may require, the most recent occurrence of the conduct to which the complaint relates.

(8) Notwithstanding subsection (6), a rights commissioner may entertain a complaint under this section presented to him or her after the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (6) but not later than 6 months after such expiration, if he or she is satisfied that the failure to present the complaint within that period was due to reasonable cause.

(9) Proceedings under this section before a rights commissioner shall be conducted otherwise than in public.

(10) A rights commissioner shall maintain a register of all decisions made by him or her under this section and shall make the register available for inspection by members of the public during normal office hours.

(11) A party concerned may appeal to the Court a decision of a rights commissioner under section 5 and if the party does so, the Court shall—

(a) give the parties an opportunity to be heard by it and to present to it any evidence relevant to the appeal,

(b) make a determination in writing in relation to the appeal affirming, varying or setting aside the decision, and

(c) communicate the determination to the parties.".

By means of this amendment I am seeking a number of changes to strengthen the meaning of "penalise" in line with the definition of victimisation in the Industrial Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 and to provide redress to the employee victimised by an employer through the mechanism of the Labour Court or through a rights commissioner.

I also seek to have trade union employees granted paid time off from work to allow them to carry out their duties as employee representatives and require the Minister to make regulations prescribing the minimum level of facilities to be granted to such employee representatives. These are positive proposals and I am sure the Minister of State will have no difficulty accepting them.

See this speech in context