Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Along with members of Viktor Orbán's Government in Hungary, the Austrian Government and a few others, the Tánaiste is a co-signatory to a letter to the Commission seeking to water down the provisions of a draft directive aimed at ensuring that at least 70% of workers are covered by collective bargaining agreements. I may have some difficulties with how the directive is written myself but I certainly would not seek to undermine it or water it down in any way, shape or form. My question was specifically on creating the conditions for trade unions to be able to bargain collectively for their members, and indeed, for trade union recognition and trade union rights.

I tend to agree with Gerry McCormack of SIPTU who, when describing the three parties in government, was very clear about it and about their attitude. He stated: "The three parties in government have a track record of supporting employer’s interests above those of workers". Naturally, workers are concerned. Specifically, in relation to collective bargaining, what are the Government's plans?

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