Ann Graves (Dublin Fingal East, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Deputies for introducing this Bill. It goes to the core of how workers can defend and improve their pay and conditions of employment. Workers need a Government that is on their side. For far too long, workers and their rights have just been an afterthought. Right now, Ireland, disgracefully, has what is among the most restrictive trade union legislative regimes in the developed world. The implication of these restrictions has been a decline in working conditions, living standards and real incomes, along with the marginalisation of trade unions and workplace democracy. It is time for workers and their rights to be at the forefront of the political agenda. Giving workers the tools to bargain for themselves will lead to better lives. We should be working in partnership with trade unions to modernise industrial relations and ensure that workers' voices are heard. Key to this is legislating for the right to organise and ensuring workers have access to unions and information about their rights from day one on the job. A strong trade union movement is essential for economic productivity and the fair distribution of growth benefits, and it would provide for an increased resource for the WRC and HSA and for the legislative right to collectively bargain.

Workers want to join and be represented by a trade union of their choice, so why can workers in Ireland not avail of what is a human right, that is, to be represented by a trade union? Collective and consecutive Governments have consistently denied them this right, hiding behind the so-called voluntarist model of industrial relations. This simply allows employers a veto and they can refuse to engage, as many of them do. Strong trade unions are the greatest driver of economic equality, and the more equal the country is, the better it does in a whole range of areas.

The EU adequate minimum wage directive recognised the benefits of trade union organisation and collective bargaining. These benefits include tackling poverty and declining wages and providing social cohesion. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Ireland had a collective bargaining coverage rate in excess of 70%. Since then, it has declined to around 34%. The new directive effectively implies we need to increase the number to 80%. Passing this Bill will go some way towards meeting our obligations under the new EU directive. While the Bill is welcome, it does not go far enough. We need a whole suite of measures so the trade unions can do their job and increase living standards for workers and their families. I have been a trade union member since the day I started to work, which was a long time ago. I have been a local representative and a sectoral representative. Everybody should have that right.

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