David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On 1 May I launched my party's workers' rights proposals to coincide with International Labour Day. One of the things for which we have called consistently and which is also called for in the document is collective bargaining legislation and trade union recognition. We cannot have collective bargaining in the State without trade union recognition. The announcement made yesterday was not surprising.

The Government announced that it is going to bring forward legislation to enable collective bargaining but it will not include trade union recognition. That is a big mistake because one cannot have one without the other, effectively. In the Leader's own county of Waterford, for example, a number of years ago, the TalkTalk company closed. Not only was there shock at the loss of 500 to 600 jobs, there was also shock at the manner in which the workers found out that their jobs were gone and the disgraceful way they were treated by their employer at the time. There was no trade union although there was what is known as a company union or an employee representative group. That is what happens when one does not have trade union recognition and companies which will not negotiate with trade unions. It is a fundamental right for any citizen who is a member of a trade union to be represented by that body. As we have seen in so many cases, however, many companies, including Ryanair, the aforementioned TalkTalk and many others will not recognise trade unions. In such circumstances, workers are being denied a basic right.

I call for a debate on this issue. I ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister to come to the House before he publishes the legislation so that we can take him through our concerns - and that of many in the broad labour movement, including the Labour Party and the trade unions themselves - with what is being proposed. Obviously the trade unions have been lobbying the Labour Party but it is also quite clear that employer organisations have been knocking on a different door and have been lobbying Fine Gael. It would seem that the employers got exactly what they wanted because while we will have some form of collective bargaining legislation, it will fall far short of what is required. It will be yellow-pack collective bargaining introduced in the 101st anniversary of the 1913 Lock-out. In the context of the celebration of the centenary of the Lock-out last year, it falls far short.

This is an area that we should be discussing because there are a number of Senators in this House who were elected through the Labour Panel to represent the interests of labour. I am one of those Senators, as is Senator Cummins. I ask him to arrange for that debate as quickly as possible so that we can question the Minister on exactly what his intentions are and what will be included in the proposed legislation.