Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have said before that Covid-19 has highlighted the weaknesses we have in society, whether we are talking about housing, healthcare, workers' rights, or the ICU capacity we will need, and which we do not have at this point. From my perspective we are also dealing with the realities of the Border. I call on the Minister of State to bring again to Government the fact that there will be a need for an all-Ireland response in the very short term. We will also need to ensure that we have the supports that businesses, families and everyone require into the future. We do not know exactly what the future will hold with the pandemic. We have had a changing narrative in the last days.

I commend Deputy Munster on the Bill. Collective bargaining and union recognition is an absolute necessity. Deputy Munster has been absolutely to the fore with regard to the workers at Premier Periclase where we have an almost William Martin Murphy-esque busting of trade union-type operations. This Bill is what we need to give protections to workers.

In May in my town of Dundalk there was the announcement by National Pen of more than 170 job losses. The problem was that some of these jobs were actually being advertised on Tunisian websites before the job losses were announced. This is the reality that some workers have to deal with. As it relates to this Bill, those workers who dealt with management from the point of view of negotiating their exit were not allowed to be represented by union representatives. People were being dealt with on an individual basis. These were people who may not have been greatly experienced in negotiations and they were going up against an American multinational with a top-tier management team with years of experience. That is the disparity and the weakness. It is the David and Goliath. I call on the Government to see right by these workers and to give them that little step up and that little bit of protection. Otherwise, we will have what we have, which is the memory of William Martin Murphy in operation. We need those protections that have been fought for in the State, and long before the State was ever created, by the likes of Jim Larkin and James Connolly. That is what we need to see.

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