Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is good to be back in this House. I think it is the first time since December. Hopefully we can resume regular business here soon. The Labour Party is happy to support the Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021. This Bill has been brought before us without pre-legislative scrutiny as a matter of urgency. Unlike some other Bills which have been rushed through, this Bill is indeed urgent and is suitably concise and limited to be progressed rapidly. It is extremely important that we get this Bill right. There is a constant battle in the State between those who seek to protect and enhance the rights of workers and those who seek to challenge them. We see consistent attempts to undermine any legislative protections afforded to workers, especially when they involve the strengthening of collective bargaining, the roles of trade unions or giving a seat at the table to represent workers.

The Labour Party has always stood on the side of workers and their rights to collective bargaining and trade union representation. In considering this Bill, we believe that those rights are essential to a functioning democracy. I was delighted to see the recent judgment of the Supreme Court stating that the provisions of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 were constitutional. This Act was introduced by my party colleague, Deputy Ged Nash, and paved the way for thousands of workers in low-paid and poorly organised sectors to take advantage of sectoral orders to improve their pay and terms and conditions. In his ruling on that legislation, Mr. Justice Peter Charleton stated:

The 2015 Act seeks to promote or to preserve high standards of training and qualification and by a subordinate body searching for, and the Oireachtas ultimately approving, fair and sustainable rates of remuneration. All these are objectives well recognised in a modern democratic society that strives for both economic dynamism and for social protection; an aim that becomes unachievable in chaos or stagnation. These must be recognised as being legitimate matters which the Oireachtas can pursue or seek to achieve.

The sectoral order legislation was a major undertaking to remedy the implications of a judicial decision. I hope that those who are critical of the Bill will give credit where credit is due and recognise that the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 is an important achievement by the Labour Party in government in strengthening the rights and terms and conditions of workers as well as the practical effectiveness of collective bargaining. While the substance of that Act was vindicated, we are here because of another court case which has resulted in the need for amended legislation. I hope that this Bill will further strengthen the working of the industrial relations apparatus of the State, which is the WRC in this case.

It has been clear since the Ryanair judgment that more formality about how the Labour Court adjudication officers arrive at their decisions will be required as a response to the judgment of the Supreme Court in the Zalewski case. This Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill is imperative to allow the WRC to resume its vital work. The two major findings of the case were that a blanket prohibition on public hearings was not justified and that there should at least be capacity to take an oath for the process to be constitutional.

The proposed amendment gives adjudication officers discretion in cases which have been referred to them to decide that either all or part of the case proceedings can take place in private if the nature, circumstances or interests of justice make it preferable. The default position would be for these to be held in public. Given the often sensitive nature of cases for both sides, I hope and expect that, by agreement, many cases will in practice be heard in private. A strength of the WRC is that damage to individuals and indeed companies from publicity surrounding cases can be avoided.

The Bill also provides for either side applying to have either part or all of the proceedings held in public. The paragraph to be substituted for subsection (14) provides for an adjudication officer effectively to direct the commission not to name parties in the published decision, which I think is merited.

The Bill provides for an adjudication officer to hear evidence on oath and the Government seems to think it necessary to make provision for an offence such as perjury. This offence is provided for in six separate amendments to other legislation, set out in sections 4, 6 and 9 to 12 of the Bill.

On a technical point, the memorandum accompanying the Bill states "aligned with section 12 of the Criminal Justice (Perjury and Related Offences) Bill 2018 (Bill 112 of 2018)." However, the Oireachtas recently passed the Criminal Justice (Perjury and Related Offences) Act 2021, which was signed into law on 21 June and came into immediate operation. In that Act, a judicial or other proceeding includes proceedings before any "person having by law power to hear, receive and examine evidence on oath". It would therefore include proceedings before adjudication officers once they are given the new power to administer oaths. Under section 2(1) of the Act, a person commits the offence of perjury if he or she in or for the purpose of such proceedings gives a statement material in the proceeding while lawfully sworn as a witness that is false, and he or she knows to be false. This seems to cover the same grounds as the new offences created in today's Bill. The Act goes on to deal with several important matters related to the offence of perjury, including subornation, incitement, collaboration etc.

Given that the Act places perjury on a statutory footing for the first time in a consolidated and simplified manner, and that it will apply across the board, including to the proceedings before the WRC, would it be unnecessary and perhaps unworkable, without any reference to that legislation, to include separate provision on exactly the same subject matter in the current Bill? I could be mistaken but given the time pressure due to the large volume of accelerated business in the House and the general increase in everyone's workload due to Covid, which I think everyone would acknowledge, I would be grateful if the Minister and Government could indulge me and refer this point to receive relevant legal examination before Committee Stage.

While the facility for an oath is required from a constitutional point of view, a strength of the process is the absence of some of the intimidating trappings and legalese that can be associated with full judicial court proceedings.

I hope that in the day-to-day operations of the court it will not be necessary to invoke the provision in every aspect of every case.

Section 3 of the Bill sets down provisions to remove adjudicators which, hopefully, will be rarely, if ever, needed. We can all agree that the importance of passing this Bill is paramount. I look forward to the discussion of any amendments and, hopefully, we can pass this Bill quickly to allow resumption of the full operation of the WRC and that it will be improved in the interests of everyone.

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