Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Bill is entitled "an Act [...] to allow Trade Unions access to their members in the workplace for purposes related to the employment of its members or for purposes related to the Union’s business or both". The Bill provides for a representative of a union to obtain consent to enter a workplace, places conditions on access to workplaces and provides for members to have time off from work for union meetings.

I better declare an interest. I speak as an employer. Any new law in this area must strike a balance between the interests of workers and employers by providing certainty and clarity for businesses while protecting union activity in workplaces. We must be very careful because it is a very difficult time and has been for the past ten years since the recession. We must all ensure exploitative work practices, where they exist, are challenged and ensure a sufficiently robust system of representation for workers. That goes without saying.

However, as I said a moment ago, there needs to be a balance, and that balance is very fine, very delicate and very thin. Unilateral demands from union representatives to enter places of private business or work would simply ignore any legitimate concerns of employers. This must be resisted because we cannot have that. We are trying to nurture and encourage employers all the time and trying to keep them in Ireland.

Many of the people promoting this Bill, and I am not disrespecting any trade unionists or workers, have never employed anybody in their lives and have no intention of doing so. They have no understanding of the difficulties or the sleepless nights involved in running a small business.

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