Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday I commented on some of the stand-out provisions of the Bill, such as section 7, which concerns registered employment agreements and instructs the Labour Court to register agreements only where there is all-party agreement and in cases in which the court is satisfied that a trade union is substantially representative of workers in an organisation. On the other side, section 18, which concerns sectoral employment orders, will extend advantageous benefits and conditions to workers in a sector even if they or their employer were not party to Labour Court proceedings.

Section 20 of the Bill is also significant because it provides a mechanism to allow a business owner or employer to apply to the Labour Court for a temporary derogation from the requirement concerning pay levels set out in the sectoral employment order. This, it must be pointed out, is for businesses experiencing temporary financial difficulties. It is important that businesses experiencing difficulties have options regarding sectoral employment orders, and this is an issue I raised at the Oireachtas committee. It provides flexibility. In times of financial difficulty for a business, when jobs are under threat, we should not put in place a system that would compound this threat. Section 20 will enable business owners and employees to work together to save the business and bring it back to viability. An example would be everyone in the business taking a small cut rather than allowing a colleague to be let go. This is the type of flexibility we need to ensure job creation and job retention.

In terms of the benefits of the Bill for workers, it will ensure that where there is no collective bargaining, workers will have an effective system that will allow them to air grievances about pay or conditions of employment in the Labour Court. For employers, the Bill will provide a clear and balanced mechanism in which the fairness of the employment conditions of workers can be assessed where collective bargaining does not take place.

I again commend the Minister of State on the work he has done on this Bill. I wish him well in its passage through the House.

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