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

What we have seen in recent years is a race to the bottom. Workers' rights have been and are being eroded. It is no wonder many people voted for Brexit because of the lack of workers' rights in Britain. The European Union was supposed to be a guarantor of workers' rights but it has not proved to be the great guarantor. People have had enough and they are standing up, whether Bus Éireann workers, nurses or teachers. Tesco misjudged this and it misjudged the resolve of the workers to go out and strike, make their mark and fight this multinational. I do not accept the position of the Minister of State of non-interference and that he is standing by the Labour Court and the Workplace Relations Commission. Surely the Government has an opinion on what companies do, and it should stand up for people and should state what the company is doing is wrong and that it should not be driving down wages and tearing up contracts. There is an onus on the Government or anyone to state this.

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