Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Independent and Parties Technical Group for introducing this Bill and giving us the opportunity to speak on the issue to which it relates. I am a trade unionist and have been since I entered the workforce as a teenager. I am the Sinn Féin spokesperson on community development. I worked for many years in the community and voluntary sector. What I want to talk about in the brief time I have is the need for this Bill on trade union recognition to advance trade union recognition for all workers.

I am speaking to the Minister of State on an issue in the Houses of Parliament, so he might at least do me the courtesy of listening to what I have to say, if he does not mind. We need to advance trade union recognition for all workers, but in particular those in the community and voluntary sector, where many workers who are doing public work for our communities and who are paid from the public purse are not afforded trade union recognition by their employers. I have seen at first hand the work carried out by section 39, section 56 and section 10 organisations. Their workers are members of trade unions for a reason: they have a lousy deal. They have been negotiating in good faith but some of their employers do not recognise their right to collective bargaining and their trade unions. That needs to change. Their right to trade union recognition is ignored, their right to collective bargaining is blocked, and the Government is complicit in this. SIPTU, Fórsa and my union, Unite the Union, have been crystal clear that staff in this sector not only have lower pay than their colleagues in the public service but also have weaker terms and no bargaining power, despite their organisations being publicly funded to deliver public services. These workers have balloted and organised, and they have even walked off their jobs – jobs they love and that are a vocation for them – not for the sake of profit or special treatment but for basic recognition, for respect. It is not just an industrial relations issue; it is also a question of rights and, to be very frank, a failure of the Government. My colleague Deputy O'Reilly laid it out. The promises were made but quickly forgotten.

The Trade Union Recognition Bill offers a clear and simple remedy, and my party will support it. We will have feedback and contributions to make when, I hope, it gets to Committee Stage, but it does need to be advanced. The rights to organise, be represented and bargain collectively are basic rights all across the developed world. Ireland is an outlier. The Government loves to compare this country to EU member states but we compare very poorly when it comes to trade union recognition. Therefore, it is long past time that this issue was advanced. I ask the Government to do the decent thing here and let it advance.

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