John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 4:

In page 8, before section 12, to insert the following new section:

12.—(1) The Court shall not permit the establishment of more than one committee for a single sector.

(2) All committees shall operate on a national basis.

(3) Any Employment Regulation Order agreed after the commencement of this Act shall apply to all members of a particular sector.

Amendments Nos. 4 and 5 are related in that they both deal with joint labour committees. I welcome the Minister of State back to the House and have a general question that I may ask later. With regard to the amendments, about a month ago on Second Stage there were a couple of issues about which I expressed concern, one being the geographical spread of joint labour committees - that there is more than one such committee in many areas. I understand this may have been necessary in certain circumstances when the committees were originally established and that particular committees were required for certain sectors of the economy. This Bill is a missed opportunity to streamline the system and process by which joint labour committees operate. That is the fundamental difficulty Fine Gael has with it. Amendment No. 4 seeks to ensure we would have joint labour committees which would operate across the State. This is entirely reasonable and I hope the Minister of State may be able to respond positively to the amendment. Amendment No. 5 relates specifically to a Private Members' Bill that was published, although not read a Second Time, in the other House by my colleague, Deputy Leo Varadkar. The Industrial Relations (Protection of Employment)(Amendment) Bill 2009 deals again with joint labour committees and specifically with the chair of the JLCs. As constituted at present the committees have an equal number of members, comprising employers and workers in the related areas. The chairperson of the committee has a vote. Ultimately, when it comes to negotiations on terms and conditions, which is what joint labour committees are all about, the casting vote of the chair almost invariably comes down on the side from which the chairperson originates. This amendment is geared towards trying to get a genuine consensus and meeting of minds between the two sides who compose the JLC and removing the right of the chairman to have a casting vote. It is a genuine attempt to ensure we have proper agreement between both sides within the joint labour committee structure.

It is important to point out that in a number of JLCs the workers are represented by union representatives in sectors of the economy that are non-unionised. A number of JLCs deal with specific areas where trade union membership is low and, in some areas, almost non-existent. The workers are being represented by people who, it could be argued, are not representative of their views but are none the less members of the JLC. This amendment simply seeks to ensure the independence of the chair and remove the right of the chair to have a casting vote in respect of future agreements on joint labour committees.