Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

The Minister's response appears to be that the Constitution does not require mandatory recognition of unions but nor does it prohibit it. The question is what will the Government do and not what the Constitution states. While the Minister may correct me if I am wrong, he has adverted to the existence of union-busting employers. When such employers hear that employees of theirs are getting organised in trade unions, they sack them. They get rid of them and make life unbearable for them, which is unacceptable. The way to deal with this is for the Government simply to introduce legislation whereby in the case of workers who choose to join and be represented by a trade union, their employer is required to negotiate with them and not to victimise them. Why can the Government not introduce such legislation and why must it defer to Europe or anywhere else? It should simply bring in the legislation to give people the basic democratic right to be represented by those they elect to represent them.

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