Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

No, recovery does not automatically mean industrial chaos. Industrial peace requires constant minding and tending, as I think the Taoiseach knows, and it is clear that attention to industrial peace is not being afforded by this Administration. That is the plain fact of it. In our time we legislated for the restoration of registered employment agreements and the capacity to have sectoral orders within, for example, the public transport sphere. Will the Taoiseach not agree that the nub of the issue is that the race to the bottom that will worsen workers' terms and conditions cannot be allowed to happen? If there is a common floor of decency, the private and public sectors can then compete on a variety of other means but not on pushing down the wages of workers who are already struggling just to pay their way.

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