Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

Has the Government learned any lessons from this situation? Does it acknowledge that it was a mistake not to oppose the DAA slashing the terms and conditions of workers, slashing the numbers of workers and using the pandemic in the way that it did? Has the Government investigated why we have this shortage of staff? Why is it that the DAA cannot recruit the security staff it needs? Why does the Government think that the company will be able to have 480 new security staff in place? From talking to workers, the answer seems to be very simple. It will be found to be very difficult to recruit workers with a requirement for them to be available to work for up to 40 hours a week, while they may actually only get 20 hours a week at a rate of €14 an hour. It is not possible to make a life on that basis. It will not be possible for people to commit to pay a mortgage or for childcare, and particularly so in the context of the cost-of-living crisis. That is not an attractive prospect for workers.

The problem with the Government’s approach in respect of sending in the Army personnel, who are also low-paid workers, is that it is letting the DAA away with what it is doing and with not addressing the central issue here. This is that the company used the pandemic to attack wages and conditions. It is not now able to attract staff and will still not be able to do so unless it offers decent terms and conditions. Will the Government be asking the DAA to ensure that people will be guaranteed 40 hours a week to enable them to build a life around that? Will the Government be asking the DAA to restore decent pay and conditions? Will the Government be opposing the attempts by the DAA, and we are also hearing news in this context about Aer Lingus, in respect of plans to freeze workers’ pay for five years? Right throughout the aviation industry we have seen attempts to use the pandemic to undermine the terms and conditions of workers. This has been negatively affecting not only the workers, but society at large, in respect of everybody who has been attempting to go on holidays, etc.

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