John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, to the House and I also welcome the Employee (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005. It is particularly appropriate that we should be discussing this Bill in the light of the Irish Ferries dispute and what the Irish Continental Group is seeking from the workers. I have no doubt that if these employees were involved in the consultation process some time ago and had received these demands, they might well have asked members of management what their plans were for outsourcing their own jobs. The answer would have been interesting. I am sure they do not have any such intentions even while they no doubt constitute the costliest part of the company. It would be totally inappropriate at this juncture not to mention Irish Ferries and the sad agenda that company has presented to its workforce.

This Bill was spawned by Directive 2002/14/EC of the European Parliament. The EU's reasoning for the directive was pursuant to Article 136 of the relevant treaty. A particular objective of the Community and the member states is to promote social dialogue between management and labour. Point 17 of the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers provides, inter alia, that information, consultation and participation for workers must be developed along appropriate lines, taking into account the practices in force in different member states. The Commission consulted management and labour at Community level at the possible direction of Community action on the information and consultation of employees in undertakings. Following the consultation the Commission considered that Community action was advisable and again consulted management and labour on the contents of the planned proposal. Management and labour have presented their opinions to the Commission.

Having completed the second stage of consultation, management and labour have not informed the Commission of their wish to initiate the process potentially leading to the conclusion on an agreement. The existence of legal frameworks at national and Community levels, intended to ensure that workers are involved in the affairs of the undertakings that employ them and in decisions which affect them, has not always prevented serious decisions affecting employees from being taken and made public without adequate procedures being implemented beforehand to inform and consult them.

There is a need to strengthen dialogue and promote mutual trust within undertakings in order to improve risk anticipation, make work organisations more flexible and facilitate employee access to training — while maintaining security, making workers aware of adaptation needs and enhancing their availability to undertake measures and activities to increase employability. In short, there is a need to promote employee involvement in the future of the operation and increase its competitiveness. In particular there is a need to promote and enhance information and consultation on the likely development of employment within the undertaking. This is apposite where the employer's evaluation suggests that employment may be under threat. A statement of the possible anticipatory measures envisaged is crucial, in terms of employee training and development, in particular, with a view to offsetting negative developments and increasing the employability chances of those likely to be affected.

Timely information and consultation is a prerequisite for the success of the restructuring and adaptation of undertakings to the new conditions created by globalisation of the economy, particularly through the development of new forms of organisation of work. The Community has implemented an employment strategy based on the concepts of anticipation, prevention and employability, which are to be incorporated as key elements into all public policies likely to benefit employment, including those of individual undertakings by strengthening the social dialogue. This is with a view to promoting change compatible with preserving the priority objectives of employment.

Further development of the Internal Market must be properly balanced to maintain the essential values on which our societies are based and to ensure all citizens benefit from economic development. Entry into the third stage of economic and monetary union has extended and accelerated the competitive pressure at European level. This means that more supportive measures are needed at national level. The Employee (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 establishes a general framework setting out minimum requirements for the rights of information and consultation of employees in undertakings. The new legislation transposes EU Council Directive 2002/14/EC on information and consultation with employees. The aim of the directive is to strengthen dialogue and promote mutual trust within undertakings. The Bill facilitates a co-operative and positive approach by individual undertakings and their employees to meeting the objectives of the directive. It encourages parties to agree arrangements for providing information and consultation best suited to their needs.

The Bill heralds a new era of effective two-way information and consultation practices in undertakings. It is a positive step on the road to improving competitiveness and the development of a greater sense of partnership at enterprise development level. Fostering worker involvement generates tangible benefits for both employer and employee and can serve as a catalyst for improvement in organisation performance. The Bill provides employees with a right to information and consultation, without prejudicing the responsibility of management to make decisions on the operation of the undertaking. I see it as being very advantageous to business and thus employment development and sustainability.

Respecting the tradition of voluntariness in Irish industrial relations, the Bill provides the maximum flexibility for employers and employees to devise arrangements which suit particular circumstances. It provides for a general framework to set out minimum requirements for the rights to information and consultation in undertakings with at least 50 employees. Its provisions will apply in accordance with the following timetable: undertakings of at least 150 employees from a date to be prescribed following enactment of the legislation; undertakings with at least 100 employees, from 23 March 2007; and undertakings with at least 50 employees, from 23 March 2008.

The Bill obliges employers to provide information and consultation in issues such as the probable development of an undertaking's activities and economic situation and as regards any decisions likely to lead to substantial changes in work organisation or contractual relations. Information must be given in such time and fashion and with such content as is appropriate to enable workers' representatives, in particular, to conduct adequate study and prepare for consultation, where necessary. At present the information and consultation rights of employees in Ireland are limited to specific situations, for example, collective redundancies and the transfer of undertakings. This new Bill is, without prejudice to those existing rights to information and consultation in Irish law, as provided for by the Protection of Employment Act 1977, as amended, the European Communities (Transfer of Undertakings) Regulations 2003 and the Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Act 1996.

Employers have the option under the Bill of putting in place agreements before a date to be prescribed, following enactment of the legislation, known as pre-existing agreements, which can be tailor made to suit the culture and circumstances of the particular company. The Bill gives workers the right to request that an employer sets up an information and consultation procedure, once 10% of employees — subject to a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 100 — make such a request. An employer must enter negotiations to agree a procedure with employees. A third option is provided in the standard rules of the Bill, which prescribe the procedure to be followed in setting up an information and consultation forum. This forum comprises elected employee representatives. The Bill provides for the Labour Court to investigate disputes about the operation or interpretation of agreements. It provides for the enforcement of Labour Court determinations by the Circuit Court.

The legislation provides for penalties of up to €3,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both, on summary conviction for offences under the Bill — and on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €30,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or more. I commend the Bill to the House.