Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to speak in support of this Private Members' motion from the Social Democrats on the issue of decent work, workers' rights, inequality and precarious work. The motion highlights the structural problem of low pay in the Irish economy.

Many people are not aware that Ireland has one of the most unequal distributions of market income in the European Union. It is true that when our tax and welfare systems kick in as a safety net we have a more equal outcome, but our tax and social welfare systems should be focused on the provision of basic services for our citizens and on investment in our economy and social systems rather than propping up the very low wages of a significant cohort of workers. That is why this motion calls for a clear pathway to a living wage. It cannot be an issue for the Government, as it has already made this commitment in the programme for Government.

According to Social Justice Ireland, the at risk of poverty rate in Ireland is 14%, but without our tax and social welfare system that rate would be greater than 40%. This clearly illustrates the systemic issue of low pay. In fact, 110,000 people live below the poverty line despite having a job.

According to the OECD, Ireland has one of the highest rates of low-paid employment in the OECD. The rate is almost six times that of Belgium and is second only to the United States. According to the labour force survey of national minimum wage estimates for quarter 4 of 2019, 122,800 employees or workers were in receipt of the minimum wage or less.

Many Deputies have spoken about the fact that the motion calls on the Government to make precisely the same commitments to workers in the Republic of Ireland as they have made to workers in Northern Ireland in the New Decade, New Approach agreement reached in January of this year. I reiterate that very important point.

Another important issue is the increasing casualisation of work. This is partly driven by the unparalleled pace of change in production, research, development and innovation. The buzzword is "disruption". This disruption is having an extremely disruptive effect on workers and their employment. There is often no certainty or anchor, and less and less stability in people's working lives.

How are workers supposed to plan? How do they know they can pay their rent in six months' time or their mortgage in two years' time? How can they plan for their or their families' futures? I agree with Deputy Louise O'Reilly, who she said that precarious work destroys people's lives because it takes away their ability to plan. It undermines people's hopes for the future and leaves them on a treadmill. No matter how fast they run, they do not make any progress.

Another issue is the fact that our labour legislation no longer covers the consequences of the major changes that are taking place in the world of work. That is why this motion calls for the right to collective bargaining and representation in the workplace and recognises the lack of entitlement to basic protections such as sick pay and statutory leave for some of our workforce.

Senator Elizabeth Warren coined the phrase "gig economy", and as the numbers in the gig economy increase, workers' rights are being eroded. More and more holes are appearing in our basic safety net of employment that helps to hold our society together. Our focus should be, as the motion calls for, on creating good jobs and protecting workers' rights.

The International Labour Organization, ILO, has a phrase that covers a lot of what I believe in, namely, "decent work".

Decent work sums up the aspirations of people in their working lives; a plan where they can move forward, have security and plan for a family. Decent work delivers a living wage and provides security in the workplace and opportunities for people to participate in decisions that affect their working lives. We are always told that access to work and to employment is a way out of poverty but this is not the case for a significant numbers of workers in Ireland.

It is not mentioned in this motion but flexible work - working from home - now needs to come within the remit of some kind of labour legislation and I am sure that is something we will come back to again.

This Private Members' motion is modest in what it asks for. It asks for a focus on the creation of good jobs and the protection of workers' rights. It calls for decent income, security of tenure, decent working conditions and the setting up of a task force to help deliver those modest aspirations.

Others have commented and used stronger language than me but I am disappointed at the Government amendment. It reiterates the Government's commitment to delivering a living wage and it assures us that the July jobs initiative and the national economic plan will support the creation of good quality jobs. I really hope it does. However, it minimises the legitimate concerns raised in this motion by the Social Democrats, especially on the issues of precarious work, the casualisation of work, systemic low pay in the Irish economy and the real need to improve collective bargaining for those on low pay.

If the Government felt the need to amend this motion and, politically, I understand why, it should have dealt with those issues in a decent and comprehensive way.

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