Alex White (Labour)

Will the Leader ask the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance to address quickly the serious and genuine issues raised by SIPTU, the largest trade union in the country? Mr. Jack O'Connor has clarified the position of the union in a letter in The Irish Times today. I draw the attention of the House to this most important letter and ask the Leader to raise its contents with the Taoiseach as a matter of urgency.

In recent days, the ICMSA and the IFA have had talks with the Taoiseach, whether over tea and buns in Tullamore or somewhere else. Useful work was done at those meetings and the farming organisations thankfully have recommended a "Yes" vote in the Lisbon treaty. Regrettably SIPTU has not yet found it possible to recommend a "Yes" vote in the treaty, although the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has. Will the Leader raise with the Government as a matter of urgency the question asked by Mr. Jack O'Connor and SIPTU last week? They were portrayed in some quarters of the media as almost demanding legislation or constitutional change within ten or 12 days of the Lisbon treaty or else they would not support it. That is not what they have sought.

On the question of trade union recognition and the fall-out from the unfortunate Ryanair decision in the Supreme Court, which has arguably undermined the role and power of trade unions, Mr. O'Connor said:

We have made no demand for a Government declaration to implement "statutory union negotiating rights". Our position is that we will support the Lisbon Treaty if the Government commits to legislate for an entitlement to the benefits of collective bargaining for workers (and, by implication, prohibition against discrimination for seeking to organise to achieve it).

It is a perfectly reasonable request that trade unions should be entitled to organise and to have employers listen to their genuine concerns and views when they are raised on the shop floor. That power and entitlement has been undermined by the Ryanair decision. The unions are entitled to have that revisited and I ask the Taoiseach to address that issue as a matter of urgency. It may mean a commitment on the part of the Government to amend the 2001 and 2004 Acts in order that the definition of "collective bargaining" is clarified in legislation and that we can reverse the worst effects of the Supreme Court decision in the Ryanair case.