Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2015. Our programme for Government gives a fair commitment to reform the law that currently exists for employers' rights to participate in collective bargaining, thus ensuring that we must comply with the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights. Based on these judgments, we need to make provisions for an improved and modern industrial framework that will provide employers with clarity and employees with an effective alternative where collective bargaining agreements are not in place. The Bill will once and for all provide a clear and balanced mechanism whereby the employment conditions of workers are protected in a situation where no collective bargaining is in place.

The Bill will also provide employers with a clear framework for managing their workplaces in the years ahead. In this regard I am pleased to see the new laws will provide a balance between the interests of the worker and that of the employer. This will be achieved through an improved collective bargaining system and will provide for registered employment agreements to be re-established and industry sector wage rates and conditions to be introduced, thus placing the Low Pay Commission on a statutory basis.

The Bill is the result of a lengthy consultation process that included intensive engagement with the relevant stakeholders. In this regard, I am pleased to see that the proposals have been welcomed by both IBEC and the ICTU. I have no doubt that this Bill will provide for a framework that will allow all workers who wish to seek better terms and conditions in situations where no collective bargaining is in place or recognised by the employer and will provide a replacement for registered employment agreements. In practical terms, this will mean that in respect of the collective bargaining element of the legislation, workers who wish to improve their terms and conditions in places of employment where the employer does not recognise any collective bargaining arrangements now have a mechanism whereby they can commence a claim for better wages and terms and conditions with the help of a trade union, and have these claims determined by the Labour Court based on comparisons with similar companies.

Like all Members of the House, I regularly have to deal with constituents who are having difficulty in their employment, particularly in respect of pay rates and terms and conditions of employment. I have had to deal with many cases where employees felt they had no means of addressing workplace issues like pay rates or terms and conditions of employment. This legislation will bring clarity to these employees. Indeed, this legislation will also bring clarity to employers, especially those who felt there was no basis for them to implement pay rates or terms and conditions they felt were appropriate to their particular business.

I agree wholeheartedly with the Ministers involved that this legislation, when enacted, will complement Ireland's constitutional, social and economic traditions and also meet its international commitments and will therefore ensure our continued success in creating new and sustainable jobs and attracting much needed investment into the economy. In my constituency, Louth, we have seen over 3,500 new jobs created since we launched our action plan for jobs and, as I have previously stated in the House, we are well on our way to reaching full employment by 2018.

This legislation will provide new, clear, balanced and proven mechanisms to deal with specific industrial relations issues and will address the gaps that exist in protecting workers while also addressing the issue of low pay. It will also provide stability and certainty for employers who, we must recognise, are the ones creating the badly needed jobs in the first place.

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