Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

When does the Minister of State think that legislation will be brought through and the report will be finished and presented to us in the Dáil? The workers have gone on strike for a day already in Dunnes Stores because of their pay and conditions. There will also be a demonstration on 6 June. Dunnes Stores has agreed to increase wages by 3% and bring in four-week rotas, which is a step forward and has resulted from the pressure put by workers and the support they got. However, we also know there has been huge intimidation. Some 20 workers have lost their jobs, some workers have been taken from their positions and put onto tills because of the action they took and for some workers there is no point in having a 3% increase if their 20 hours are reduced to 15 hours because they will lose out in any event. These issues must be dealt with urgently. There will be more disputes if the Government does not bring in the relevant legislation to protect workers and give trade unions the right to represent those workers in a robust way which will protect them.

See this speech in context