Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Together with the Social Democrats, I am strongly in favour of this Bill. We hope the Government will both support it and ensure its speedy progression and we thank the Labour Party for bringing the Bill forward. It addresses deficiencies in existing workers' rights and provides additional, much-needed protection during a pandemic. Bills like this must be a point of unity during the Covid-19 crisis.

Workers in this country have no entitlement to sick pay. It is essentially a voluntary measure, which thankfully many employers provide. However, there are also whole sectors that can afford it and choose not to give people the dignity of it, including the State. Sick pay should be a basic entitlement and it should not be a matter for debate. Ireland is an outlier in a European context. In economically comparable countries, sick leave is a given and an entitlement. We need to address this deficiency here.

Sick pay is less likely in precarious work environments, in more physically demanding industries and in the ever-increasing gig economy. This leaves people in extremely vulnerable positions. The absence of proper support for older people, including sick leave, can push them out of the workforce early. The European Commission’s Social Protection Committee’s review on sickness benefits highlighted the gendered aspects of sick pay. On average, women take more short-term sick leave, due to factors such as part-time work, sick leave related to pregnancy and birth and the demands of work in the home and care for children. As a result, the lack of sick pay in Ireland disproportionately affects women.

This Bill is not only a social and economic consideration during a pandemic but it is also a public health consideration. What happens when a low-paid worker gets sick? What happens when a mother struggling to pay for her children’s education falls ill or when a father, unsure if he can pay next month’s rent, feels unwell? We all know what happens. They still go to work because they do not have a choice. Without sick pay, we are directly incentivising people to go to work sick. This is ridiculous at the best of times but during a pandemic, it is scandalous. Presenteeism, that is, going to work while being in poor health, is recognised as being an increasing challenge in European workplaces that is costing businesses and social welfare systems due to the spread of illness. Sick pay is a necessary security blanket for people.

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For businesses, it is an assurance that ill employees will stay at home. During a pandemic, it is an essential safety net for everyone, especially front-line workers. Sick pay is a basic public health policy. It not only helps protect and improve individual and communal health, which leads to a better and more productive society, it also means considerable savings for our overstretched hospitals. This point cannot be emphasised enough during a global pandemic.

An OECD paper on policy responses to coronavirus shows that expansions to paid sick leave play "a key role in protecting incomes, health and jobs during a health-driven labour market crisis" and that paid sick leave can be a particularly effective tool to tackle the disease "as part of a rigorous testing, tracking, tracing and isolating strategy". Research from the US shows that the introduction of sick pay in a region is associated with a decreased rate of contagious flu-like disease.

Meat plants, to which several of my colleagues have referred, are a clear example of the need for sick pay. There have been over 1,500 cases and more than 30 clusters within meat plants to date, with some clusters currently active. Some workers have a choice between going to work with symptoms of Covid and not getting paid. The sector is refusing to engage in an industry-wide agreement on sick pay. It is essential that this Bill passes in order to address this disgraceful treatment of workers in a sector that continues to be one of the largest threats to public health.

The granting of paid leave to care for a child who has, or potentially has, Covid-19 is not only a humane response but a good public health measure. This will allow people to take the time necessary to take care of their families and isolate if needed.

Concerns will rightly be raised about the costs of these measures for small businesses and self-employed people. However, many small and family run businesses that I know in west Cork already provide sick pay and parental leave to employees. These enterprises, which are the backbone of the rural economy, are excellent employers and this Bill helps create a level playing field by requiring larger employers to do the right thing too. The State also needs to step in to provide comparable measures for the self-employed, especially for the farming and the fishing communities, which should have sick pay and parental leave as well as injury and bereavement support. If the Government is serious about helping rural Ireland, these forms of paid leave should be introduced.

This Bill is about public health and the fair treatment of workers. Similarly to the Social Democrats workers' rights motion and the Sinn Féin motion to extend maternity leave in July, both of which were hollowed out through Government amendments, this Bill responds to the needs of ordinary people during a pandemic. The Government needs to stop routinely ignoring Opposition motions if we are all to work together during this pandemic. This Bill is about people in precarious employment, many of them on the front line, who do vital work but who are denied sick pay. If media reports are correct, the Government intends to send this legislation to consultation with unions and employers' groups to report back in six months. This stalling tactic puts public health at risk and allows very profitable sectors and the State to continue to deny people basic entitlements. This is about tackling the spread of Covid-19. The Government has been criticised for ambiguities and inaction before. Please do not let this be another issue left unaddressed. Sick pay is essential and is necessary now.

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