Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This legislation represents a significant and positive reform to Ireland's industrial relations law. It enhances and protects workers' rights, particularly those of low-paid workers, and offers certainty for employers in terms of wage costs. The Bill is quite simple in its intent, providing for the reintroduction of a mechanism for the registration of employment agreements between an employer or employers and trade unions governing remuneration and conditions of employment in individual enterprises, providing for a new statutory framework for establishing minimum rates of remuneration and terms and conditions of employment for a specified type, class or group of workers, particularly in the context of the transnational provision of services, and promoting harmonious relations between workers and management. In effect, it is a framework to replace the former sectoral registered employment agreements. The Bill introduces the legislative amendments to the Industrial Relations Acts 2001 and 2004 required to give effect to the programme for Government commitment to reform the current law on employees' rights to engage in collective bargaining so as to ensure compliance by the State with recent judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. The Statement of Government Priorities 2014-2016 prioritised the enactment of the collective bargaining legislation as approved by Government.

The main concern that has been raised in respect of this legislation relates to the decision of the Supreme Court in McGowan and others v. Labour Court Ireland and others, which found that the operation of the previous scheme under the 1946 Act was unconstitutional in so far as it related to registered employment agreements. There is a suggestion that as the previous scheme was so held, the provisions of the new legislation are also, therefore, unconstitutional. With respect, that is an understandable misinterpretation of the Supreme Court's decision. In the course of the proceedings in McGowan, various claims were advanced as to the unconstitutionality of the legislation. These were distilled down to a very simple question which was considered by the court, namely, whether the operation of the Industrial Relations Act 1946 was in breach of Article 15.2.1° of the Constitution by delegating the making, variation and cancellation of registered employment agreements to the Labour Court and the parties to such agreements. Article 15.2.1° is very straightforward:

The sole and exclusive power of making laws for the State is hereby vested in the Oireachtas: no other legislative authority has power to make laws for the State.

The Supreme Court held that Part III of the 1946 Act appeared to effect a delegation of law-making power to a body other than the Oireachtas. The legislation before us today seems to make right that unlawful delegation and, therefore, is not, on the face of it, unconstitutional in and of itself. Of course, the Supreme Court might at some future date decide otherwise, but the decision in the McGowan case does not mean that alternative legislation cannot be introduced, particularly in the tight way this Bill has been drafted.

Members of the Association of Electrical Contractors Ireland have raised several issues with me in respect of the legislation. The Minister of State might confirm that the decision of the Supreme Court does not validate existing contractual arrangements as between employer and employee. In the circumstances, I take it that all such existing contracts will be unaffected by this legislation, which will only apply to contracts entered into in the future by way of mandating terms and conditions and pay levels.Some electrical contractors expressed the wish to have the National Employment Rights Authority, NERA, assume a role in monitoring compliance under the Bill. Will the Minister of State confirm that NERA has statutory authority to monitor compliance under the legislation?

Another issue that arises relates to reviews of orders and certainty for employers. The legislation provides that if there has not been a review of the sectoral employment order within three years, the Minister may order such a review. It would be preferable if the Minister were obliged to make such an order. I will be interested to hear the Minister of State's response on this issue. Constant reviews of orders should be avoided to ensure employers are not left in an uncertain position, particularly those with fixed price contracts.

This is another example of the extremely important legislation that has emerged from the Minister's office since the Government came to power. The Bill strikes an appropriate balance between the entitlement of workers to fair pay and conditions and the need to provide certainty for employers.