Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

----- has made life very difficult either for a single worker or for a couple, and there are many couples who work in Dunnes Stores.

As people have been describing, it is actually very difficult. That is why the collective bargaining legislation, which will come before the Dáil and be enacted in the next term, before the summer recess, will be absolutely critical to modernising our industrial relations framework. That is what have I asked the Minister of State, Deputy Ged Nash, to prioritise it and he has done so. It has involved intensive discussions with the trade unions, which are strong supporters of it, and the employers, who, in many cases, have to be persuaded of the merits and value of collective bargaining to modern businesses.

The inclusion in the collective bargaining legislation of anti-victimisation clauses is to overcome the understandable fears of the workers who may have taken strike action in this situation. I hope that Sinn Féin will support this legislation.

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