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

People are being discriminated against and they are being dismissed because of trade union activity. The simple fact is that if they were not, the Respect at Work campaign would not have come into being. While I completely understand the Minister of State's position with regard to the length of time this is going to take, it is open to the Government to act now. I asked a fairly simple question, which is if the Minister of State supports the six legislative asks. That should not contradict anything she has said or cross over it. She should be able to say to me very clearly that she does or does not support them. The six asks relate to protections for workers. Sinn Féin is fully committed to delivering the right to organise for workers, not simply the minimum allowed under the Constitution. As the Minister of State rightly points out, people have a right to be members of a trade union. They are not protected adequately because if they were, the Communication Workers Union, Mandate Trade Union, the Financial Services Union and SIPTU would not have come together to bring the Respect at Work campaign into being. Does the Minister of State support the six legislative asks which will deliver protections for workers when they are trying to get organised in the workplace?

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