Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise an issue about women's rights in the workplace. A woman worker at VMware in Ballincollig working off her contract would get six months' full pay during maternity leave, but the new contract put in front of her on Monday by the new owners would cut that to 12 weeks' full pay during maternity leave. There is a company restructuring taking place and there are mass redundancies in the pipeline. This is being used by the new owners as a battering ram to lower conditions. The rights of women need to be protected and advanced. They do not need to be targeted for attack. They are being targeted for attack here and this is an issue of concern not just to VMware workers but to all women workers, that this is how industry trends can start off. I would like the Taoiseach to comment on the issues at hand there.

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