Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Táim fíor-bhuíoch as an deis labhairt ar an mBille tabhachtach seo agus iaraim tacaíocht ó gach aon Teachta dó.

If passed, as I hope it will be, the Bill will represent an important step forward in strengthening workers’ rights, particularly for those in the hospitality sector, who are often on low pay and who suffer disproportionate levels of exploitation in the workplace. The Bill will ensure that workers' tips will be given legal protection by making it illegal for an employer to withhold or deduct staff tips and will require businesses to display their tipping policy in order that customers will know how tips are distributed. No reasonable person could disagree with either of these clauses. They are positive measures and the Bill has rightly received tremendous support from the trade union movement, not least through ICTU, as well as from the OneGalway and OneCork organisations. They recognise the importance of the Bill, as I hope every Teachta Dála will when the vote is taken.

If we leave a tip in a restaurant, bar or café, we all reasonably and rightly expect that the person who served us or who prepared our food or drink will receive the tip, or at least a cut of it, but that is not always the case. Most people are surprised and angry to learn that workers do not have a legal right to their tips, which is a problem. Research conducted in 2017 highlights that one third of employees' tips are regularly stolen or dipped into by their employers. Nobody can stand over that or allow such practices to continue. Workers deserve their dues, fair treatment, their wages and their tips. That is the way it has to be. In that regard, the Bill is unashamedly pro-worker but I emphasise that it is not anti-employer in any way. There are not two competing, mutually exclusive demands. No good employer has anything to fear from the Bill and, in fact, many employers have welcomed it because it will remove from employers the responsibility and burden for the administration of employees’ tips and put workers in control of the tronc scheme. That is welcome and will bring transparency to the system in workplaces. There is no downside to the Bill unless one happens to be a bad employer. There are some of them around but those who breach the provisions of the legislation rightly deserve to face the sanctions outlined in the Bill. For the vast majority of employers, however, and for employees alike, the Bill is good news and should be made law.

Iarraim ar gach Teachta tacú leis an mBille atá romhainn. Let us get the Bill passed and enacted. Let us do the right thing.

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