Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Joan Collins for bringing forward such important legislation and to her staff for all the work they did on this. I fully support this legislation to oblige employers to make contributions from the wages of an employee to a trade union of his or her choice if requested just as they already do with pension payments and other voluntary contributions as has been outlined by the Deputy in her contribution. This is a very simple Bill that would make it much easier for employees to join a trade union. I am extremely disappointed that the Government is choosing to vote this Bill down. It makes clear exactly where the Government stands when it comes to supporting and facilitating trade unions in this country and it gives a clear indication on this Government’s stance on union busting.

This legislation would allow us to meet some of the obligations under the new EU adequate minimum wage directive and the fact that meeting these obligations is clearly not a priority for this Government is very concerning. The directive seeks to reduce working poverty and inequality by improving the adequacy of statutory minimum wages as well as the promotion of collective bargaining. The directive aims to give recognition to the important role that social actors and collective bargaining institutions play in building social market economies in EU countries and it must be transposed into Irish law by November this year.

The Bill would help to achieve the goals of this EU directive so it does not make sense for the Government to fail to support this legislation. It is worrying that a Government that is usually so keen to kowtow to Europe and implement EU directives seems to be dragging its heels on this particular one but, strangely, that is how the Government seems to work regarding the stuff that benefits people in Ireland. It delays and delays. Ensuring the protection of workers should be a priority, not a consideration.

Workers need protection now more than ever. We have heard many reports recently of multinational retailers and companies utilising union-busting tactics. Companies like Amazon and Starbucks are known for their anti-union practices. These companies make it very difficult for workers to unionise and fight for better working conditions. It is evident that legislation is badly needed in this country to address this issue.

We are seeing the same situation time and time again - workers going up against billionaires and billion-dollar companies with endless resources while labour laws are too weak. We have seen it with Debenhams workers and Iceland workers. I raised the issues faced by Iceland workers in the Dáil last July but, unfortunately, when it comes to looking after the rights of the workers, the Government has been very slow to intervene and, again, is dragging its heels on this very important legislation and refusing to look after worker’s rights. This is something that, hopefully, workers will not forget come election time.

Trade unions play a very important role in society and employers should be supportive of employees’ rights to join a trade union should they wish to do so. The Constitution protects the right of all employees to access trade union membership and employers should be obliged to facilitate this right.

Trade unions are often portrayed as anti-employer but this could not be further from the truth. Trade unions empower workers and act as representatives to employees in their relations with employers making it much easier for employers to communicate effectively with their workers as a whole, especially in large companies when employee needs may vary.

Employers should strive to have a working environment that employees can work well in and feel empowered in. A happy work environment leads to better outcomes for everyone and the anti-employer sentiment that some associate with unions is extremely unhelpful for both employers and employees. Employers should be encouraged to view the unionisation of workers as a very positive step, especially if they want to provide good working conditions for their staff and that is probably the question.

Too many people in Ireland hold the view that workers are a burden on employers and that view is held by the Government as well. The reality is that a successful business is one that will look after its employees and have a good relationship with them. Many employers seem to believe that workers are only a hindrance to their business and that business be great if they did not have to deal with workers.

The reality is that in many cases, the customers that the business might be dealing with are the same type of people on the minimum wage that the employer is complaining about having to assist. What we are missing in this country is the realisation that workers are as important to employers as the tax system, a favourable environment and a so-called pro business environment, which does not mean employers can screw workers for all they can get out of them. Workers are what makes a business a success but our system and Government does not believe that. It believes that workers are a hindrance that employers have to put up with in order to continue making money for themselves.

I will address the Government's reason for not supporting this legislation. It is a bit disingenuous to just vote it down. The Government should be more honest. The reason stated is that it places an administrative burden on businesses. The Government seems to select which measures place an administrative burden with regard to whether it can turn a Bill down. It accepts Bills from other Opposition parties all the time that could be a burden on the State, yet when it suits, it will not be done.

Another reason cites policy and constitutional matters along with the potential regulatory impacts, including costs to the Exchequer and businesses - to cite the cost to the Exchequer does not make sense - that require detailed consideration in advance of progressing legislation in this area. It would be better if the Government just said it was not interested and does not want to do this rather than coming up with excuses that do not stand up. Any reasonable person or anyone involved in union or workplace activity who has a look at this will see that the Government basically does not want this legislation and this is why it is rejecting it - not because it will be too burdensome for it to implement it.

The Minister of State spoke about the EU directive. The directive has probably been flagged for a year or more so surely somebody in the Department would have looked at it to see what we need to do to put it in place. It should not be a burden. This Bill complements the directive, therefore, it should not be a burden to implement but, of course, it is. This directive probably will not be implemented for another four or five years like most directives in this State. It will be legally enforced by Europe and we will have to do to implement it. We have seen it so many times in this House. In the past couple of years, we have been threatened three or four times with being taken to court by the EU and, therefore, we implement directives that have been sitting around on a shelf in Departments for years waiting to be implemented. That is the reality. We will see what happens. It will be interesting to see if the Department is true to its word and brings this legislation forward in a timely fashion. Based on history and knowledge of how it works, that certainly will not happen, which will be to the detriment of workers and employers because it will continue to maintain a system where employers and workers are at each other's throats, employers feel workers are a hindrance to them making money and employees will see employers as a hindrance as well, which is wrong. We should be working together to build a situation where everybody benefits from everybody else. That would be better in the long run.

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