Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

The programme for Government contains a commitment to reform legislation on workers' rights to engage in collective bargaining to ensure compliance with recent judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. As the Tánaiste will know that court has ruled that the accepted right to join trade unions includes the right to bargain collectively. At the time of the campaign on the referendum on the Lisbon treaty and in its manifesto for last year's general election the Labour Party made the commitment to legislate for collective bargaining and that is reiterated in the programme for Government. The Tánaiste will be as aware as I am, particularly in these very hard times, that vulnerable workers now more than ever need their rights to collective bargaining enshrined in law and protected. When will this legislation be published?

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