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

In the year since the Government came to office we have had a litany of cases in which workers were treated in a disgraceful fashion by rogue and unscrupulous employers. Workers at Jane Norman have still not secured justice, while workers in Vita Cortex, La Senza, Lagan Brick and Game were forced to occupy their places of employment to bring their cases to the attention of members of the public and the Government and secure some justice. More recently, as I noted earlier, we had the disgraceful treatment of Irish Cement workers by one of the largest and most profitable companies in the country. Perhaps the lack of concern shown on that issue is related to the close relations Irish Cement has always enjoyed with the political establishment, going back to the days when Cement Roadstone organised handouts for Charles Haughey and his family.

I find it amazing that this Government, which has shown so much enthusiasm, energy and vigour in protecting the interests of bankers, bondholders and the super-wealthy in this country and in Europe, shows no enthusiasm for and a complete disinterest in the plight of workers who have been treated in a despicable fashion. Since the La Senza and Vita Cortex disputes began, Deputies on this side have been calling on it to introduce legislation to protect workers from this type of despicable treatment. While we saw crocodile tears and heard words of concern, we did not see any concrete action that would prevent a recurrence of such cases. It should be clear to the Government at this stage that certain employers, particularly large multinational companies, are taking advantage of the climate of recession to do things to workers they would not have got away with in other circumstances. What will the Government do about this?

Sinn Féin accepts that its Bill addresses only some aspects of employee protection. Nevertheless, the legislation should be supported in so far as it extends the minimum notice requirements when employers make workers redundant and requires the Employment Appeals Tribunal and Labour Court to respond more quickly to workers who are made redundant. We also need a shift in gear from the Government. It must show a political will to address the grievances of workers who are being treated in a despicable fashion. I hope it will respond.

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