Derek McDowell (Labour)

I move amendment No. 25:

In page 7, before section 7, to insert the following new section:

7.—(1) An employer shall enter into negotiations with the representatives of employees to establish information and consultation arrangements.

(2) Within 6 months from commencing negotiations, the parties shall agree to establish an information and consultation arrangement by means of—

(a) a negotiated agreement under section 8, or

(b) the Standard Rules set out in Schedule 1.

(3) The period of 6 months referred to in subsection (2) may be extended by agreement of the parties.".

These amendments deal with the trigger mechanism, an extremely important principle. The Bill provides for a complex and unnecessary trigger mechanism. In establishing a right to information and consultation, it is reasonable to provide that this entitlement be automatic. The Bill, by including a trigger mechanism under which a certain number of workers must request the establishment of the new arrangements, effectively allows employers to opt out, at least temporarily, of the requirements to provide information and engage in consultation. This arrangement could have serious effects. If an enterprise is functioning well, employees will be happy to allow existing arrangements to continue. As a result, companies will not be required to engage in crisis talks or crisis management of any kind and demand for information and consultation of the type provided for in the legislation will be minimal. Only when something goes badly wrong — for example, changes in work practices are mooted or the possibility of redundancies is raised — will employees decide they need to invoke the provisions of the Bill. Unfortunately, the Bill provides that the information and consultation mechanism may take up to six months to kick in, by which time the initial crisis will be long over and new work practices or redundancies imposed.

I was somewhat surprised when I read this because it is not in keeping with most of the labour legislation, which normally does not allow opt-outs. I would be interested to hear why it was felt necessary to allow employers, to all intents and purposes, to at least delay the implementation of the Bill and the implementation of an employees' forum and make it likely that it is almost meaningless because a six-month delay, if it occurred, would be far to long a period in which to react to a crisis or any particular difficulty arising within an enterprise. In summary, I and my party, whatever about the complexities involved, are opposed to the notion of there being a trigger mechanism in the first instance. It should not be in the legislation; this should be an automatic right.