Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In recent weeks, industrial unrest has begun to increase. What started with the Luas workers spread to Dublin Bus drivers. Now, gardaí are the latest group to announce industrial action. As the economy continues to grow and recover, it is clear that the demand for income recovery will continue to increase.

It is the view of my party that solutions must be found to properly address these justified expectations, solutions that are more nuanced than either stonewalling all the requests and demands made by every trade union or, as the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport would have it, simply writing a cheque.

Outside the public sector, it is clear we need additional mechanisms to cope with quite complex disputes. Last week, Seanad Éireann passed a motion tabled my party colleagues there calling for the establishment of an employer labour conference that used to exist and was very successful for a very long time, to assist in such complicated situations. We are facing now into a winter of discontent on the industrial relations front. This Government could do with all the advice and help it can get in this area. The old employer labour conference predates social partnership. It is not designed to supplant but to complement the work of the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, and the Labour Court. How does the Taoiseach intend to respond to, and enact, the motion passed by Seanad Éireann last week?

Industrial unrest is not limited to Dublin Bus, the latest example being An Garda Síochána. There are reports this morning that the public sector pay commission might be established by the end of this year to report by the middle of next year. This is hardly a timeline designed to address the immediate challenges faced by Government in respect of An Garda Síochána. Public servants care about their pay but they also care about their investment in the public services they deliver. I and my party believe that they should be involved in conversations about both. The need for a social dialogue process is pretty clear and urgent. Will the Taoiseach confirm to the House that the Government is now willing to enter a negotiation with all public sector unions with a view to producing a roadmap to full pay restoration? Will he say whether he is willing to begin a broader dialogue with trade union representatives about investment in public services and restoration of pay?

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