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

The Minister will agree the treatment of the workforce in Vita Cortex, Lagan Brick, La Senza and Jane Norman was outrageous, unacceptable and should never be repeated. Given the current recessionary environment, it is very likely, although I hope it will not be the case, that we will see workers in other firms which go into liquidation or administration finding themselves in the same unacceptable circumstances. The Minister seems to be saying it is the status quo, however, that we do not have to do much. He suggested some possible review of how redundancy is communicated to workers.

Unless something changes in this regard, workers will draw the conclusion they need to engage in occupations to vindicate their rights with rogue employers. The workers in the companies in question only gained some, not full, satisfaction because they engaged in occupations.

Will the Minister ensure companies cannot be allowed to hide assets elsewhere in other companies or subsidiaries in their possession to avoid paying workers what they owe them? In cases of administration or liquidation, can we not put an obligation on the employer to ensure workers get first call on moneys owed to them?

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