David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Precarious work and "if and when" contracts are a problem for many workers in this State. They create uncertainty in terms of pay and how many hours a worker will work from week to week. They lead to exploitation in the workplace, a hollowing out of workers' rights and deep anxiety and stress for the workers involved. We know, and the Minister knows from his previous brief, that many of these workers actually work 30 hours per week for years and yet are left on low-hour 15-hour contracts. This has an impact on access to social welfare payments and the ability of these workers to get a mortgage and provide for their families.

They are workers who do get up early in the morning but they do so with uncertainty hanging over their heads. On Monday the Mandate trade union launched a "Secure Hours - Better Future" charter. Is the Minister aware of that charter? Mandate has called on all Deputies to sign it. Will the Minister, Deputy Bruton, and other Ministers sign the charter? Yesterday the Taoiseach accused my party of playing politics with people's misery and of not being solution-focused. The Minister knows that is absolute nonsense. It is a desperate attempt by the Taoiseach to avoid responsibility for problems created by the Government.

Let us look at the issue. Last July I brought forward a Bill to address the issue of if-and-when contracts and to bring about fairness. The essence of the Bill was to ensure that a worker's contract reflects the hours he or she actually works. These are workers in the hospitality, retail and other sectors. The Bill was an earnest attempt to provide a solution. What was the response of the Government? It was to oppose the Bill and pretend the problem does not exist. However, the Bill passed and was fully scrutinised by the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. The committee spent 13 hours over six sessions hearing from 44 witnesses. In the end, it produced a report that made 23 amendments and recommendations. What was the Government's response? It was to produce a Bill of its own. The Bill is woefully inadequate. It will not ban zero-hour contracts; the bands are too broad; and the look-back period is too long.

Does the Minister accept the report from the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the amendments it suggested? I do and I will support it. Will the Minister ensure once and for all that exploitation in the workplace in terms of if-and-when contracts becomes a thing of the past? Will he support the Sinn Féin Bill? Will the Minister, Deputy Bruton, and his fellow Ministers and Deputies from his party sign the Mandate charter for secure hours and a better future for workers?

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