Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)

Every week in Donegal, and here in my office in Leinster House, I receive representations from people who have lost their jobs. The calls do not only come from my constituency but from all over the State. While each call is different, and each person's circumstances unique, there is a common thread binding them all. Not only must people cope with the loss of their livelihood and income, not only must they face an uncertain future looking for work and trying to make ends meet, amidst all of that uncertainty, they must also fight to receive their basic redundancy entitlements.

I have dealt with workers who after ten years employment arrived to work on a Monday morning to be told they no longer had a job. Deputy Mac Lochlainn and others have talked about the individual stories. I can remember getting the call from a factory beside my home town and walking up to the factory to see the workers lying on the ground crying, grown men and women, because of how the company treated them, telling them they had to leave the premises immediately. The fight for their basic redundancy entitlements went on for weeks afterwards.

In other cases people are being refused adequate redundancy payments by companies that continue to trade and generate a profit. We all remember the young women workers in La Senza who were treated in the most appalling way by their employer. The same happened to the workers in GAME. In both cases workers were not given adequate notice of their redundancy, were not provided with appropriate redundancy packages and were then faced with the prospect of applying for statutory redundancy with all the stress and waiting that that involves.

As my colleagues have outlined last night and tonight, even when employers stick to the rules there are clear problems with the system. Minimum time limits are not sufficient, recognition of orders representatives are hit and miss and workers do not have access to apply to the insolvency fund. These are just some of the limitations of the current system. Every week we hear of companies closing or workers being laid off without adequate recognition of their statutory rights. Every week we are contacted by newly unemployed people telling us that the current statutory regime is letting them down.

The Protection of Employees (Amendment) Bill provides a number of sensible and practical improvements to the existing regime. It will not stop people from losing their jobs but the measures contained in the Bill will make a real, practical difference to people struggling to cope with the reality of unemployment.

It was fitting that this Bill was introduced yesterday on 1 May, International Workers' Day. It is a day when we remember the century long struggle for the protection of workers' rights and entitlements. We remember the many struggles for decent pay and conditions; for trade union recognition and for an economy that respects workers for the contribution they make to society. It would be fitting for all TDs who believe in the protection of workers' rights to send a very clear signal from this Chamber tonight. Let us leave aside our party political differences and our ideological disagreements and unanimously support this Bill. In doing so we would be sending out a powerful signal that this Oireachtas unanimously supports workers' rights. These rights are being actively undermined and workers - whether it is those at Vita Cortex, Lagan Brick, Vodafone, La Senza or GAME- are standing up in defence of them. Let us show the workers to whom I refer and others who may find themselves in the same situation in the future that we are not just about rhetorical support. Let it not be the case that the Department merely issues a statement to the effect that it will do everything in its power and that the services of FÁS will be available to workers who have been laid off. We must show these people, through our actions as legislators, that we are ensuring they will have the maximum protection possible under law.

It is disappointing that the Government has decided to vote against the legislation. That is an appalling message to send to the workers who are currently in the position to which I refer or those who may find themselves in such a position in the future. God knows there are enough of these people about the place at present. I appeal to the Government to do the right thing and support the Bill.

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