Mary White (Fianna Fail)

That is my observation since I came to the Seanad. I sat on the national women's committee of the Federated Workers Union of Ireland in the mid-1970s so I do not have a problem with trade unions. We must be very careful with these amendments. We do not want to intrude on existing first-class relationships between employers and employees achieved through the direct method or frighten people into thinking that the only way they can negotiate is through the trade union. A trade union is necessary to cope with a bad employer. In general, most employers will not succeed in a global, competitive market unless they have first-class relations with their employees.