Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

This is a significant Bill which potentially affects the pay and working conditions of hundreds of thousands of workers, as well as the living standards of their families. Today is also a significant occasion in the Dáil because this is the first Bill to be debated under the new procedure for Friday sittings to address legislation put forward by parties in opposition. I welcome this development. I commend my colleague and Sinn Féin spokesperson on jobs, enterprise and innovation, Deputy Peadar Tóibín, on bringing forward this timely Bill.

Last July's High Court ruling on joint labour committees caused huge concern among low paid workers and left them even more vulnerable to exploitation. It has created uncertainty and confusion at a very worrying time for individuals and families who are struggling to make ends meet in the ongoing recession that still grips this economy. International benchmarks set by the OECD indicate that low pay is prevalent in this State. The OECD statistics show that over 21% of full-time employees are low paid compared to a eurozone average of 14.7%. The European Commission has also revealed that labour costs in low wage sectors in this State are below EU averages. In the wholesale and retail sectors, hourly labour costs are 5.5% below the EU average and in the food and accommodation sectors they are 6% below average. These are 2008 figures and it is acknowledged widely that the gap has widened as Irish labour costs fell or remained flat during the recession compared to increases in labour costs in other EU countries. So much for the widely peddled myth that workers in Ireland are pricing themselves out of the market. That is nonsense.

It has been estimated by the ICTU that potentially up to 550,000 workers are covered by JLCs or REAs. Under the retail sector JLC, the largest of the JLCs, more than 150,000 workers are covered. Forfás gives a lower estimate of between 170,000 and 300,000 workers overall covered by JLCs or REAs. In any case, we are talking about a very significant section of our working population. This very large cohort of low paid workers in Ireland includes a disproportionate number of women, a high percentage of whom work part time. They generally have a lower educational attainment level which is compounded by the fact that in these employments there are far fewer opportunities for in-house training and development. These employments tend to be less unionised, making workers far more vulnerable to exploitation.

When JLCs and REAs were first introduced, these conditions were far worse, which is why JLCs and REAs were introduced. They were a step forward for workers at the time. The demand now from some employers and right-wing economists for their abolition, leading inevitably to a free-for-all in the exploitation of workers, is beneath contempt and must be resisted. It is important to point out that these structures also benefit good employers. The Coalition to Protect the Lowest Paid has put this very well. It has pointed out:

Permitting exemptions from the JLC wage floors will disadvantage 'good employers and firms'. Given that a wage floor is universal – competition between firms occurs over quality of goods and services, management skills and market strategies. For instance, two firms with the same amount of employees compete with each other. The firm that excels in quality and skills is rewarded with higher sales. If the weaker firm is allowed to compensate for its poorer quality by cutting wages, the stronger firm may be undermined and forced to follow suit. This is the 'race-to-the-bottom' that should be avoided. Universal wage floors advantage good firms.

That is a lesson everyone in the House should take on board. This is not just an employment issue. It affects the living standards and the lives of hundreds of thousands of Irish people. It has profound implications for population health and, especially, the well-being of children. As my party's spokesperson on health and children, this is of particular concern to me. Simply put, keeping workers on low pay, or lowering their pay further, pushes them and their families into poverty. That is the reality that gives the lie to the catch-cry of "competitiveness" which demands lower wages and claims that low wages would boost the economy. The opposite is the case. They depress the domestic economy by depriving it of the disposable income of hundreds of thousands of families. The effect on local economies, especially local retailers, services and other small businesses is deplorable. I can attest to this in my constituency. Unemployment, low pay and dependence on social welfare have resulted in a situation where the lights are going out in businesses right across the constituency in the counties of Cavan and Monaghan.

In 2006, at the height of the Celtic tiger, the Combat Poverty Agency published a study of child poverty. It found that about one in five children in the State were in households with below 60% of median income, the widely used measure of relative income poverty. Children also had a higher rate of living in consistent poverty. The State was also among a group of states in the European Union with a rather high relative income poverty rate for children. In its recommendations and conclusions in the 2006 report, the Combat Poverty Agency urged the Government to: "Consider the interplay between the broader forces that influence the living standards and well-being of children, including family supports, employment and public services". What we are seeing today, under the Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition, is a continuation of the policies of its predecessor - let us make no mistake - a reduction in social welfare support for families, the slashing of public services, especially health and education, and mass unemployment. On top of this, we have the situation that the Bill seeks to address – the need for minimum protection for low paid workers.

The implications for the spread of child poverty are huge. As I pointed out, the Combat Poverty Agency report was compiled at the height of the Celtic tiger. The position now is far worse with nearly 500,000 people on this island unemployed and with the lowering of wages and the worsening of conditions. Unfortunately, we do not now have a Combat Poverty Agency to properly measure poverty levels and guide and assist Government in addressing poverty. The agency was abolished by the previous Government. I take the opportunity to call on the new Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition to reinstate it. It was never more needed than it is now.

A key category of workers covered by JLCs are those who clean our hospitals. I do not have to tell anyone in the Chamber about the importance of the cleaners, predominantly women, who work in our grossly overcrowded and over-worked public hospitals which are so vulnerable to hospital-based infection. It is totally unacceptable that it could even be contemplated that the pay of these vital workers in the health care system might be reduced.

I urge all Deputies to support the Bill. The Government has no excuse for opposing it. It is not perfect and does not address all aspects of the problem, but it is a basis on which to move forward and it can be debated and amended on Committee and Report Stages. There is no valid reason to delay the matter. What is the purpose in having the Labour Party in government-----

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