Results 5,021-5,040 of 6,623 for speaker:Gerald Nash

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Employment Rights (17 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: The matters raised by Senator Cullinane are of great concern to all right-thinking people. In recent days, a number of representatives of business organisations have contacted me to express disgust at the manner in which the workers at Clerys have been treated and the practice that led to their dismissal. Senator Cullinane raises some important matters which, strictly-speaking, fall within...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (17 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: It is worth reminding the House that the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 provides for the national minimum wage only. It is quite restricted in terms of how it views the minimum wage. That Act sets out provisions for reviewing the minimum wage and the mechanisms available for those purposes. When this Bill is enacted, it will give the commission a duty to assist as many low-paid workers as...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (17 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: Senators will be conscious that the establishment of a Low Pay Commission is just one element in a suite of measures I am in the process of introducing as part of the employment rights and dignity at work agenda and Government efforts to ensure decent, sustainable employment. Section 4 sets out the clear objectives of the national minimum wage, which is designed to assist as many low paid...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (17 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: Senator White can be reassured that I addressed the Clerys issue in response to a Commencement matter tabled by Senator Cullinane this morning. Section 5 of the Bill sets out a very comprehensive and demanding set of factors that the commission must take into account in any year in coming to a recommendation on the appropriate rate of the national minimum wage. These reflect those contained...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (17 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: I will do my best to address the concerns expressed by Senator Zappone. The Low Pay Commission, almost by definition because of the sheer number and proportion of women existing on the national minimum wage, will have a particular focus in its work on how the minimum wage and low pay in general affect women. It is also worth noting that there is nothing in the Bill excluding the Low Pay...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (17 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: Amendment No. 12 introduces a number of specific tasks that the commission will be required to undertake as part of its functions, namely, monitor the incidences of low pay by examining the prevalence of pay at two-thirds or below of median earnings, monitor key patterns in paid and unpaid open market internships and monitor the effectiveness of existing policies to enforce the national...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (17 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: The amendment provides that in addition to an allowance for board and lodging the national minimum wage will provide a prohibition or restriction on charges or deductions and fair hours of employment rules. I have considered the proposed amendment and I do not consider it necessary. The Payment of Wages Act 1991 already provides a redress mechanism for unlawful deductions from wages while...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (17 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: Dunnes Stores might thank Senator Craughwell for not mentioning it. Amendment No. 18 proposes to introduce in a new section 7 of the Bill anti-victimisation protections for workers who have made a statement or given evidence to the Low Pay Commission via their representative organisation. There are already a number of protections in place for workers who consider that they have been subject...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (17 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: We have discussed this question at length. I know that many Senators had their own views on the composition of the Low Pay Commission. I am satisfied that it is sufficiently well balanced to represent the interests of all those we seek to capture. Senator Cullinane pointed out that there are trade union representatives who have a lifetime of voluntary and professional representational...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (17 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: I thank Senators of all parties and none for their support for this initiative. Around this time last year, discussions first took place among the Tánaiste and I and a number of others in the Labour Party on how we could make an institutional change that would make a real difference to those on low pay. We have travelled something of a journey over the past few months in developing...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Conditions (16 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: I note the findings of the survey which the Young Workers Network conducted on the working lives of the under 35s, with particular reference to low pay and Zero Hours Contracts. I understand that they have forwarded the findings to the University of Limerick for consideration in the context of the study I commissioned UL to carry out, following a competitive tendering process, into the...

Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2015: Second Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: I have no intention of going anywhere.

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: I apologise for my late arrival.

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: The purpose of the Bill is to provide for the necessary amendments to the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000 to ensure the establishment of the Low Pay Commission on a statutory basis. The principal function of the commission will be, on an annual basis, to examine and make recommendations to the Minister of the day on the national minimum wage with a view to ensuring the national minimum wage,...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: Section 4 sets out very clear objectives. The national minimum wage should be designed to assist as many low paid workers as is reasonably practicable; should be set at a rate that is both fair and sustainable and, where adjustment is appropriate, adjusted incrementally and over time progressively increased, without creating significant adverse consequences for employment or competitiveness....

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: A number of very interesting points have been made. I would not have had the opportunity to become a councillor had I not had a very understanding employer when I first entered public life in the late 1990s. I am sure this experience will chime with that of many in this Chamber this afternoon. The issue needs to be taken very seriously. Over recent weeks, I noted that some people are very...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: On amendment No. 15, section 5 of the Bill inserts a new section 10C in the 2000 Act and provides for the function of the commission on low pay. In addition to making an annual recommendation report to the Minister on the national minimum hourly rate of pay, new section 10C(4) provides that the commission may be requested by the Minister to examine and report on such matters related generally...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: I appreciate that Senator Keane has made contact with my office in that regard and there has been some correspondence. The Low Pay Commission will be looking at a range of sectors in the economy and different issues around low pay. I appreciate and accept what Senator Keane said. The child care sector is an extremely important one for society. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs,...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: In relation to amendment No. 18, section 6 inserts a new section 10D in the 2000 Act to the effect that: 10D.(1)Within 3 months of the date of receipt of a recommendation and report submitted to him or her under section 10C(2) and having considered the report and recommendation and having had regard to section 10C(3), the Minister may—(a) by order declare a national minimum hourly...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2015)

Gerald Nash: No.