Results 28,021-28,040 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: I am talking about a legal right. Does the legal right exist or is it a voluntary code that an employer can determine not to award such a right? Is it an enforceable right?

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: Is there a right or is there not a right?

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 12: In page 5, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: "(a) the provisions and procedures contained in the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001 and the Industrial Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004,". This amendment which I raised on Committee Stage was proposed to me by congress. It seeks to prevent the Bill being used to undermine the existing...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: I have had the opportunity to read what the Minister said on Committee Stage which is quite a different reply from the one I have just heard. Apparently now it is inappropriate because these enactments, to which I want a reference in the Bill, refer to dispute resolution and are inappropriate in a consultation mechanism. That is the Minister of State's current position whereas on Committee...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 14: In page 6, to delete lines 7 to 15. This amendment seeks to delete section 4, the impact of which would be to bring the Bill into operation on the occasion of its passing into law. This would avoid the unnecessary delay of waiting until 2008 for application of the Bill. Given that we have been tardy in regard to the transposition of the directive into domestic law, we...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: Why?

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: There is no point in arguing further with the Minister of State. I withdraw the amendment.

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 15: In page 6, to delete lines 22 and 23. I made the argument on Committee Stage, at the behest of the ICTU, to delete subsection (b) of section 5. Has the Minister of State considered it further?

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: Is the Minister of State talking about the numbers?

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: I am mindful to accept the logic of the Minister of State's case. Determining threshold and the applicability of the legislation is an important issue. I tabled the amendment at the behest of the ICTU whose analysis was that it was a weakening of the provision but if the Minister of State has thought about it, based on the assurance he has just given, I will withdraw the amendment.

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 16: In page 6, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: "(2) For the purposes of calculating workforce thresholds, all undertakings that are part of a group shall be regarded as a single undertaking.". This amendment is to insert a new subsection (2) whereby for the purposes of calculating workforce thresholds, all undertakings that are part of a group should be...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: I am obliged to the Minister of State. I have re-read what he said on Committee Stage which was that he would re-examine the position. He agreed that this issue must be clear and that there would not be a loophole. If the Minister of State is now assuring the House that is the case, having got advice from the Parliamentary Counsel, I am happy to accept his word on it.

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 17: In page 6, line 26, after "from" to insert "a trade union or excepted body,". This amendment extends the same import. A trade union or excepted body should be able to request the information in any undertaking — that is the net issue — regardless of whether the employer recognises it. It is important that basic information on the operations of a company would be...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: I will not go to war with the Minister of State on this. I would prefer to have my amendment accepted and the explicit right enshrined in statute law, rather than a process which exists for an application for information through the existing labour relations mechanisms. I will not pursue the matter further.

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: This amendment, which I proposed on Committee Stage, was forwarded to me by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The ICTU wants consultation through a consultative mechanism that involves all employees. I am informed that the definition of "consultation" is inconsistent with the definition in article 2 of the directive in so far as it conceives of direct consultation between employer and...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: I am concerned that the Minister of State would so readily endorse the notion that there is only a relative role here for trade unions or worker representatives. In other words, where good practice is established and direct consultation with employees takes place, there is no role for the trade unions and the Minister of State is indifferent on that issue. However, the existence of a trade...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: I respect the views of the Minister of State on these matters. He appreciates the issue at the heart of the two amendments in my name. They aim to ensure there is a functioning role for representative trade unions in the workplace. My concern is not that we should not provide for the exception. It is that the exception may become the norm and a lesser value could be placed on the positive and...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: The Interpretation Act 2005 came into force on 1 January 2006. As I advised the Minister of State on Committee Stage, the legal advice I receive on these matters is normally accurate.

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: This is the amendment I tabled on Committee Stage. I regarded the referencing as a mistake and I am obliged to the Minister for adding his name to the amendment at this stage.

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 10: In page 5, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following: "2.—It is hereby declared that a self-employed individual may be a member of a trade union for the purposes of the Trade Union Acts 1871 to 1990 and if he or she is such a member, he or she shall not be an undertaking for the purposes of the Competition Act 2002.". I also moved this amendment on Committee...