Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to respond to Senator Cullinane on this point. The Mandate trade union has not formally made the point to me about hours of work, but it has made the point, publicly and privately, that the utility of the collective bargaining legislation is clear in terms of potentially assisting the trade union in the context of the dispute to which Senator Cullinane has referred, a dispute that has appalled all of us in this House and elsewhere.

This provides a strengthened opportunity for trade unions to bring cases on behalf of their members to the Labour Court in a robust fashion and have the terms and conditions of a particular group of workers compared against an analogous group of workers in similar employment, whether they are represented by trade unions, and, crucially, where collective agreements are commonplace. I believe this provides a host of opportunities in constitutionally robust law that will allow for people's pay and terms and conditions to be improved if it is a case that a trade union brings a case through the Labour Court and secures a recommendation, ultimately imposed through the Circuit Court, if it is the case that there is no engagement or if an employer refuses to engage. All of the provisions are, by and large, welcomed by trade unions. We can see how effective they can be in advancing the rights of working people to improve pay and terms and conditions.

The purpose of amendment No. 6 is to provide that in addition to a recommendation in respect of the remuneration, sick pay and pension provisions for a sector, a recommendation from the Labour Court may include hours of work in the recommendation. Section 14 provides that a trade union of workers or organisation of employers, which, the Labour Court is satisfied, is substantially representative of workers or employers in a particular sector, may, separately or jointly, call on the Labour Court to examine the terms and conditions relating to the remuneration and sick pay or pensions of workers in the sector and ask the court to make a recommendation to the Minister on the matter. Accordingly, the Labour Court examination is confined consideration of remuneration, as defined, including sick pay and pensions provisions. Hours of work do not come within the scope of the court's examination in the context of sectoral employment orders and, therefore, it would not be appropriate for the court to include hours of work in a recommendation. Hours of work are of course already governed generally by the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 and, therefore, I cannot accept this amendment.