John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ireland has a comprehensive and strong corpus of current employment rights legislation. The evolution of the main elements of labour law relating to employment rights, employment protection and non-discrimination, reflects a strong focus on the enactment of legislation based on clearly identified needs at national level and arising from wider European developments. In the formulation of labour law there has been a clear policy focus aimed at finding the appropriate balance between the security which employees require in terms of working and employment conditions, and the flexibility required by employers in terms of organisation of work, work practices and the mobility of the workforce.

Despite very challenging circumstances, the past two years have seen the introduction of a generation's worth of landmark reforms in the labour affairs area. We have initiated the most significant reform in the history of the State of the workplace relations machinery for the vindication of individual employee rights; levelled the playing field for agency workers by bringing their wages into line with their full-time counterparts; enacted the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012 after the High Court found employment regulation orders to be unconstitutional; renegotiated the EU-IMF agreement and restored the minimum wage to protect vulnerable workers; and concluded the first round of consultations with stakeholders in line with the programme for Government commitment in the area of collective bargaining.

Through all these reforms, though some are contentious and the Government took criticism from all sides, at all times our focus was clear and consistent.

The Government has been determined to strike the right balance between protecting vulnerable workers and providing reforms that would make the systems more responsive and more flexible to allow for the creation of jobs. Anyway, there is more to be done.

In the judgment, delivered on 9 May last, the Supreme Court held that Part III of the Industrial Relations Act 1946 was invalid having regard to Article 15.2.1° of the Constitution. The article provides, in effect, that the exclusive power to make laws is vested in the Oireachtas. The Supreme Court took the view that registered employment agreements are instruments having the status of laws made by private individuals subject only to a limited power of veto by a subordinate body. While the Constitution allows for the limited delegation of law-making functions, the provisions of the 1946 Act went beyond what is permissible under the Constitution. The effect of the decision is to invalidate the registration of employment agreements previously registered under Part III of the 1946 Act. This was a significant judgment that requires careful consideration having regard to the amendments to the 1946 Act contained in the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012 as well. The Attorney General has been asked to supply advice on any potential implications of the judgment for the 1946 Act as amended by the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012. The Government intends to conclude its considerations of the implications of the Supreme Court decision as a matter of urgency with a view to providing a constitutionally robust legislative framework in this area.

I am mindful in particular of the significance of the issue of collective bargaining in the context of the centenary of the 1913 Lock-out. It has been the consistent policy of successive Governments to promote collective bargaining through the laws of the country and through the development of an institutional framework supportive of a voluntary system of industrial relations, premised upon freedom of contract and freedom of association. There is an extensive range of statutory provisions designed to back up the voluntary bargaining process. The freedom of association and the right to organise and bargain collectively are also guaranteed in several international instruments which the State has ratified and which it is, therefore, bound to uphold under international law.

The 2007 decision of the Supreme Court in the Ryanair case cast doubt on the mechanism that had been established in the industrial relations Acts of 2001 and 2004 to resolve problems between employers and workers on employee representation issues in cases where that could not be done through existing procedures. Prior to the outcome of the Ryanair Supreme Court case, the original legislative arrangements had been seen as a workable compromise. The legislative model for resolving issues relating to employee representation had reflected a shared commitment that, where negotiating arrangements are in place, the most effective means of resolving differences that arise between employers and trade unions representing employees is by voluntary collective bargaining. In the absence of a practice of voluntary collective bargaining, subject to agreed qualifying criteria, the industrial relations Acts from 2001 and 2004 provided a mechanism by which the fairness of the employment conditions of workers in their totality could be assessed.

In a related issue, in 2012 the committee on freedom of association of the International Labour Organisation issued several recommendations arising from a complaint referred to it by ICTU and IMPACT. It arose as a direct result of the Supreme Court judgment in the Ryanair case. In its findings, the ILO committee did not uphold these complaints but made several recommendations to the Government. I welcome the fact that the ILO report did not find Ireland to be in breach of its obligations under ILO conventions in respect of collective bargaining rights. Further, I note that the ILO did not find that a resolution of the difficulties arising from the Ryanair judgment would require the introduction of a legal regime of mandatory trade union recognition. Rather it referred to promoting machinery for voluntary negotiation between employers' and workers' organisations for the determination of terms and conditions of employment.

There is a commitment in the programme for Government to ensure that Irish law on the rights of employees to engage in collective bargaining is consistent with recent judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and, to this end, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, recently concluded a first round of consultations to hear the views of employers and trade unions on the matter. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, expects to be in a position to come forward with proposals to reform the law, as appropriate, during 2013. I am certain that satisfactory arrangements can be put in place which are suited to our constitutional, social and economic traditions as well as to our international obligations. I am also convinced that they can be framed to ensure continued success in attracting investment to our economy.

Social dialogue continues to play a critical role in policy making and in the management of the Irish economy at what is a difficult time for the majority of citizens. I was heartened to hear that when the director general of the ILO was in Dublin last February he commented during his visit that he had seen at first hand that social dialogue in Ireland was very much alive. The Government values dialogue with the key representatives of civil society and recognises the contribution that social dialogue makes in maximising common understanding of the challenges facing all sectors of society. In addition, regular contact takes place on issues of concern through bilateral contacts or consultation structures across Departments. Extensive discussions and consultations have taken place and in some instances are still ongoing.

One recent and significant example of how social dialogue is helping to address Ireland's priority needs is in addressing the public sector pay bill. The Government has sought to deliver the necessary savings by agreement and this has been the basis for engagement with public service unions in recent months. If accepted, the agreement will deliver an unprecedented increase in productivity throughout the Irish public service and a range of other efficiency and reform measures. Therefore, the value of the potential agreement to the country at this time is most significant and I acknowledge the efforts of all those currently involved in this crucial effort to deliver industrial peace in the public service at a critical time on our path to economic recovery.

Beyond the public sector, IBEC and ICTU have agreed two national protocols for the orderly conduct of industrial relations and local bargaining in the private sector and I salute them in their efforts. As I have already noted, the Minister, Deputy Bruton, has been engaged in consultations with employers and trade unions in terms of reviewing collective bargaining against the backdrop of industrial relations legislation.

We are all aware of the scale of the jobs challenge facing Ireland and the global economy at present. Behind every job that has been lost there are families and businesses struggling to cope with the impact of the downturn. That is not what we want for the economy or for society. That is why in Ireland the Government has put the jobs and growth strategy centre-stage and made job creation its key priority. However, transforming the economy is not only a matter for central Government. The Government recognises that local government, local businesses and local communities all have a part to play in supporting our companies, encouraging growth and gaining competitive advantage while maintaining and creating jobs.

The Government has put in place the Action Plan for Jobs with the dual mandate of encouraging growth and creating and maintaining jobs in our economy. The intention is to transform the Irish economy from a failed system that was based on property, banking and debt to an economy built on supporting enterprise, building new export markets, creating access to finance for small business, improving competitiveness, driving innovation and growing successful businesses to win new markets. The Action Plan for Jobs has the stated aim of making Ireland the best small country in the world in which to do business.

The Action Plan for Jobs does not purport to be a silver bullet to change our economic fortunes overnight. Rather, it is about getting to transform how we support businesses one by one to make Ireland a better place in which to do business. The Action Plan for Jobs is a national plan but its effects will be felt throughout the regions. The focus on SMEs in particular can help employment growth in all regions.

One year into the Action Plan for Jobs process, we can see evidence that the strategy and architecture are working. There were 270 individual actions committed to last year to improve the operating environment for businesses, provide an impetus for emerging sectors, support export growth and remove barriers to employment creation. More than 90% of these actions were completed during 2012. More important, there has been a stabilisation in job numbers in the past six months. The quarterly national household survey for quarter 4 of 2012 showed the first annual increase in employment since the middle of 2008. Let us compare that to the 250,000 private jobs lost in the three years before this Government took office. Enterprise Ireland and IDA client companies created almost 10,000 net jobs between them last year through their focus on enterprise, innovation and exporting. This was the best performance of the agency client companies in many years.

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