Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There have been many improvements in Irish society over the past 20 years but one area that has been steadily regressing is that of employees' rights. It is evident that workers' rights are now worse in many areas than they were when we joined the European Union in the early 1970s. The race to the bottom with regard to wages and rights started many years ago but it has accelerated greatly in recent years under both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments and, amazingly, under Governments in which the Labour Party was a partner. The Bill brought forward by Sinn Féin will allow trade unions to have access to the workplace to meet their members regarding official trade union business. This is a fundamental right that many people in this country have strived for since the beginning of the last century and before that in some cases. The Bill will allow trade unions to work out a reasonable time with an employer for access to trade union members in terms of discussing collective agreements as well as wider workplace issues.

This will prevent unscrupulous employers using the law to stymie trade unions in their work. The purpose of this Bill is to bring some necessary balance to the situation. It might not be popular for some Members of this House or for those in the media to admit the work that trade unions have done on equality and working conditions, their many other positive contributions to this country or the importance of their role in society. Trade unions protect the rights of employees and, by doing so, serve a vital social and economic function.

It is disgraceful in this day and age that we are standing in this Chamber discussing the need to pass this Bill while there is an ongoing battle against a race to the bottom in terms of workers' pay and conditions. The State cannot continue to allow companies to slash wages to increase profits when those wage cuts end up as an expense for the State. For example, 10% of Tesco staff are already on low pay. The State has to top up their incomes with supplementary social welfare. Now the company is trying to drive down wages and conditions of employment for their longest serving staff, leaving the State to step in to subsidise these low wages with welfare payments. I ask the Government and its partner, Fianna Fáil, to support our Bill, especially as the Government itself regularly deals with unions and has seen the benefits of negotiations with these unions.

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