Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

noting that:

— the Report of Independent Review of Employment Regulation Orders and Registered Employment Agreement Wage Settling Mechanisms by Mr. Kevin Duffy and Dr. Frank Walsh to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, concludes inter alia: "We have concluded that lowering the basic JLC rates to the level of the minimum wage rate is unlikely to have a substantial effect on employment" and "we conclude that it is not accurate to suggest that the body of primary employment rights legislation currently in force adequately covers matters dealt with by EROs and REAs";

— according to the OECD, Ireland suffers from some of the highest levels of low pay; over 21% of full-time employees are low paid, compared to a Eurozone average of 14.7% and European Commission data show that labour costs, including wages and employers' contributions, in the food and accommodation sector in Ireland are 6% below the EU 15 average;

— very many people covered by Joint Labour Committee-Employment Regulation Orders, JLC/EROs, and Registered Employment Agreements, REAs, are vulnerable people such as immigrants and young people and those working in small employments not amenable to trade unionisation;

— the majority of workers covered by the JLC-EROs and REAs system are women and that any reduction in remuneration in this sector will widen the gender income gap contrary to national and EU policy;

— due to the serious and disproportionate reduction in male employment, female workers form a higher proportion of primary bread winners and that reduction in female earnings would have a major impact on household and child poverty contrary to national and EU policy;

— reduction in the remuneration of already lowly paid employees will result in a reduction in revenue to the State through PAYE and VAT and will lead to an increase in claims for family income supplement payments;

— any reduction in remuneration to employees covered by JLCs and REAs will transfer income from the lowly paid to employers and-or investors, including some large multinational companies;

— any reduction in remuneration to affected employees who spend their entire income in Ireland will reduce demand in the economy and accelerate the elimination of jobs caused by the policies of the previous Government and the support by the current Government for the measures contained in budget 2011;

— it is this reduction in demand in the economy that is destroying jobs, not JLC-ERO rates; and

— any provision for derogation from JLC-ERO and REA rates of remuneration in individual employments is likely to lead to a collapse of the system as a whole and the reduction of already low wages generally, further reduction in demand and increased job elimination in the economy as a whole;

deplores any proposal of the Minister, Deputy Bruton, to enact any of the following measures:

— reduction of JLC and-or REA rates;

— reduction or abolition of extra pay for working unsocial hours such as on a Sunday;

— allow employers to claim "an inability to pay";

— reduction in overtime rates;

— removal of protection for young workers under 18 years of age;

— removal of annual increases for years of service;

— removal of recognition of craft grades;

— reduction of the number of EROs and end coverage of working conditions such as sick pay; and

— allowing employers not to keep proper employment records, which would make it easier to evade the law; and

calls on the Government as a whole to abandon these measures and believes that if Labour Party Deputies in particular vote against this motion, they will be in breach of the principle of solidarity with the lower paid and the best traditions of Larkin and Connolly.

I have moved the motion on behalf of the United Left Alliance and some Members of the Technical Group and wish to share time with my colleagues. It is fair to state this is a motion of huge importance. The wages and conditions of more than 250,000 workers are at stake. This involves some of the most isolated and vulnerable workers in Irish society, including women, immigrants and young people in the main and, quite often, workers who find themselves isolated in small employments in which union organisation is limited. The little protection such workers have comes from the joint labour committee, JLC, and employment regulation orders, EROs. Even with such protection, studies have revealed the extent to which the regulations are exploited. A study conducted by the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland in 2008 indicated that 53% of restaurant workers earned less than the minimum wage. Moreover, 44% of such workers did not get rest breaks, 85% did not receive additional pay for working on a Sunday and 85% did not receive overtime payments. An attempt is now being made to go even further than this and legitimise such exploitation, which is outlawed at present. Those Members who support the motion wish to send a signal to the Government to the effect that they will not allow this to happen. They believe it is an indictment of the Labour Party, in particular, that this is being carried out on its watch.

See this speech in context