Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important Bill, which is a combination of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill and the Industrial Relations (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill. This Bill is a fulfilment of the programme for Government's commitment to reform the current law on employees' rights to engage in collective bargaining. Indeed, it is also a fulfilment of the statement of priorities agreed by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste last year. Despite the claims of Deputy Keaveney and others, this plan was in place as far back as the programme for Government.

The aim of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2014 is to put in place a new mechanism for a revised framework for the setting of pay, pension and sick pay entitlements of workers in a particular sector. It will also provide for the registration of employment agreements which are binding only on the parties to the agreement - the employer and the trade unions.

The decision to prepare the legislation was made as a result of the 2013 judgment by the Supreme Court in the McGowan case which held that Part III of the Industrial Relations Act 1946 was invalid having regard to Article 15.2.1 of the Constitution. The effect of this was to invalidate the registration of employment agreements previously registered under that Act.

The Bill forms part of a suite of employment legislation currently being enacted by the Government to counteract perceived weaknesses in the framework for employment legislation in Ireland at present. It is critical that this matter be addressed when one looks at the increases in industrial disputes from quarter one 2014 to quarter one 2015. In 2014 just two disputes were ongoing, involving 178 workers with 310 days lost. Just one year later this has increased to disputes involving 27,588 workers and 24,056 days lost. In light of these figures, I fully support the Government's position that this legislation be provided in the interest of legal clarity, harmonious industrial relations and establishing a more constitutionally robust regulatory framework. This will have a significant impact on employers and their employees in respect of rates of pay and tendering for contracts. It is vital that industrial peace be maintained, especially in the construction sector. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the Bord na Móna workers, many of whom live in my constituency, who are in the Labour Relations Court at present.

I welcome the fact this Bill will provide a process of registering employment agreements on an individual enterprise basis and on a sectoral basis. It will also introduce reforms in the right to engage in collective bargaining and amend the procedure under which trade disputes are brought before the Labour Court in circumstances where collective bargaining is not practiced. In fact, it is the first time that collective bargaining is defined in Irish law. Anti-victimisation measures are also an important part of the Bill, which I fully support.

Last September, the Minister of State, Deputy Nash provided a copy of the general scheme of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2014 to the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and requested that the committee undertake pre-legislative scrutiny, which the committee considered and agreed to the next day. Engagement with stakeholders is an important element of this process and so the committee sought submissions by way of notice on the Houses of the Oireachtas website. Submissions were received from IBEC and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU. The committee also held a series of stakeholder meetings, commencing with a meeting with the Minister of State, Deputy Nash, and officials of the Department. Subsequent meetings were held with representatives of the following organisations: the Labour Relations Commission; the Construction Industry Federation; the Association of Electrical Contractors of Ireland; National Electrical Contractors Ireland; the Technical Electrical and Engineering Union; and the Construction Workers Alliance, with a view to scrutinising the provisions of the General Scheme. The final report was agreed by the committee on 16 December and forwarded to the Minister of State for his consideration.

Nine of the conclusions to which the committee came were contained in the report. I do not have time to go through them all but will refer to some of them.

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For example, conclusion 4 has had an impact on the Bill, which is to be welcomed. We highlighted the stakeholder concerns that parties would be bound to a revised REA to which they did not agree. I welcome the fact the Bill provides that a party may withdraw from an agreement where the Labour Court makes an order varying an agreement in the absence of agreement by both parties.

I would also like to refer to conclusion 9, which refers to enforcement and compliance especially in regard to cross-Border competition. Stakeholders highlighted the necessity for the existence of an enforcement body with appropriate authority and powers to ensure that no unfair competitive advantage could be gained by employers coming from other jurisdictions. The Minister of State might consider having conclusion 9 specifically addressed in the Bill as this is not provided for at present. He might also review some of the other conclusions which we put into the report.

Before I conclude, I would like to welcome the establishment of the Low Pay Commission, which is chaired by Dr. Donal de Buitléir. I acknowledge his welcome appearance at the Oireachtas committee. I wish him and the other members well and I look forward to their first report, which is due next month. Although this might sound a little philosophical, I believe the relationship between the employer and the employees is symbiotic and every effort to enhance that relationship is most welcome. This legislation will go a long way towards achieving that.

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