Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

We would clear the House very quickly if that were to happen so I will spare the House that scenario. One of John's songs, which is played on the radio, is "The Dunnes Stores Girl". I do not know if it is possible to have a punch line in a song, but he says of the Dunnes Stores girl, on whom he has had his eye for a while, that "She rules my world". The point of the matter here is that the Dunnes Stores girl does not even get to rule her own world because she works in a system based on very uncertain hours. Of the Dunnes Stores workers polled, 85% said they believe the uncertain-hours regime that exists in Dunnes Stores is used as a weapon to control the work force. One could work 30 hours one week and 20 hours the next week, or 30 hours one week and 12 or 15 hours the next week. One could take home €400 one week and €160 the next week. How are people supposed to organise their lives when they are subjected to those conditions? They do not know what they will be paid for their holidays because holiday pay is calculated on the basis of the average number of hours and the average wage for the 12 weeks previous to the holiday. Dunnes Stores cuts the hours for the 12 weeks before workers go on holidays so they get less holiday pay. It is a way of controlling people but how does it operate? Imagine a person arrives in the job and is a little bit bolshie - one of those Solidarity types perhaps - and does not allow him or herself to be walked on. If people raise their voices, their cards are marked. Such people better be quiet or their hours might be cut. Being active in a union is another matter. How can it be used against union activists? It is what Dunnes Stores workers went on strike against two and a half years ago. Yet, two and a half years on, despite promises that were made to them by political parties, including the Taoiseach, the issues have not been resolved. The Bill is an honest attempt to address the issues. These issues do not just affect Dunnes Stores workers. In America there is the expression "blue collar worker". These issues do not just affect blue collar workers. One also sees uncertain-hour contracts and zero-hour contracts in journalism and third level education. There has been a certain amount of debate about whether big numbers of people are affected by these contracts in Ireland compared with the UK, for example. That debate misses the point a little. The issue is more about whether the number of workers on these contracts is on the way up or down. The anecdotal evidence I have and the evidence of my own eyes is they are on the way up. It is a matter of great importance that the issues be addressed. Workers are affected in many different ways when these types of contracts are in operation. When people phone their bank or sit across the table from their bank manager because they want to get a mortgage, they are asked "What is the story with your hours at work?" and "What is the story with your contract at work?" If a person is on one of these contracts, he or she will not get a mortgage. We can be pretty sure of that. If a person wants to make child care arrangements but says to the child care provider he or she does not know how many hours the person will be needed next week, how is that person supposed to operate?

I remember a film from some years ago, "The Fisher King", in which a character remarks that every worker is only one pay cheque away from being homeless. That film was set in the United States but the same applies now in this country. I was reminded of that line when I read an interview recently with a worker on one of these contracts who remarked that being able to secure a greater number of hours is the difference between being able to pay one's rent in any given week or month and not being able to do so. That this type of exploitation is taking place in this country in 2017 is absolutely disgraceful, and it must be tackled. Solidarity-People Before Profit's view is that the Government's position on this issue is cynical. What we are seeing, in fact, is a strong attempt to block the Bill introduced by Deputy Cullinane. I understand a money objection was raised to it, which can be nothing other than a blocking mechanism. It is bizarre given that the Bill's introduction, rather than costing the State money, would actually facilitate savings for the Exchequer as it would lead to more workers earning better wages and fewer people having to apply for family income supplement. To block the legislation on a false premise seems very cynical.

Of course, the Government, while blocking these proposals, is also trying to pose as a friend to workers by bringing forward its own Bill. However, that Bill is so flawed and has so many loopholes that ruthless employers will be able to drive a horse and cart through it. It is hardly surprising that the Irish Business and Employers Confederation, IBEC, has identified problems with the Government's proposals on the basis that they are a little bit restrictive. The reality, however, is that the restrictions are such that all employers who have their wits about them and are ruthless enough will be able to override them. Casual workers are not protected under the provisions proposed by the Government. Instead of five-hour gaps between the different bands, there is to be a gap of 15 hours. This means a person could be in one band one week on 35 hours and the next week be on only 20 hours and get a pay cheque that is one third lighter than it was the week before. That does not amount to protection for workers. In place of a six-month lead-in period, as proposed in Deputy Cullinane's Bill, the Government's proposal of an 18-month lead-in before the bands are fixed amounts to an employer's charter.

The Sinn Féin Bill is very positive in its intent and in its content. There might be a few i's to dot and t's to cross on Committee Stage, but it is a positive proposal that would represent a gain for workers' rights. As such, we will support it, and we urge the Government to abandon what has thus far been a very cynical approach to the debate on these issues.

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