Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Barry White of The Sunday Business Postreported that the head of IBEC has been lobbying the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Humphreys, for more employer involvement in appointments to the Labour Court and the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. Apparently, the aim is to ensure that the changing nature of work is reflected in those bodies. Specifically, it would mean appointing advocates of the gig economy, banded hours contracts, atypical leave conditions and so on to those bodies. This is a significant concern for workers and trade unionists. Any attempt to change the composition of these important bodies is likely to worsen the conditions of workers. I am interested in the Government's view on this because the responsible Minister declined to provide any specific details on the lobbying. I ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to inform the House, in the context of legislation, what changes IBEC has been lobbying for to change the composition of these important workplace bodies.

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