David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 7:

In page 16, line 36, after "not" to insert "blacklist,".

There is no provision in the legislation on the blacklisting of trade union activists. We have referred a number of times in both Houses of the Oireachtas to the blacklisting scandal exposed in Great Britain. It has been found that major construction companies engaged in systematic surveillance and the blacklisting of trade unionists over a 30-year period, resulting in victimisation, violence, unemployment and horrific hardship for families and communities. BAM, Carillion and Balfour Beatty are just three of over 30 companies named and shamed in the scandal. For years, trade union activities and the day-to-day lives of the families, friends and loved ones of construction workers were monitored and recorded. Construction workers were left perpetually unemployed. When work was secured, they would be let go without fault or warning within a day or so. Subcontractors lost contracts on sites because they refused to lay off labourers who happened to be on the principal contractor's blacklist. The Government tells us on a regular basis that the Irish and British economies are intertwined. If that is the case, it would be preposterous to suggest the widespread blacklisting of trade unionists in Great Britain has not been repeated here or that the companies involved in this scandal take a different attitude to Irish trade unionists when operating in the State. Earlier this year the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee produced a damning report on blacklisting in employment and recommended the holding of a full public inquiry.

When this issue has been debated publicly, I have heard from some, mainly employers, that there is no evidence of the blacklisting of trade unionists in this state. The same argument was made in Great Britain until the work of the consultants' association was uncovered, exposing the widespread and systematic practice of the blacklisting of over 3,000 trade union activists by over 30 major contractors. It would stretch people's imaginations or the credibility of the argument to suggest this is not happening or has not happened in this state. I believe it has happened. In Dave Smith and Phil Chamberlain's recently published book on the blacklisting scandal in Great Britain, Labour Party MP John McDonnell wrote that blacklisting had three direct and deliberate effects. The first, obviously, is to break the individual in order that he or she is forced to choose between earning a living and being an active trade unionist. The second is to quarantine the individual in order that in denying him or her access to the workplace, he or she will have no ability to represent, influence, persuade or mobilise others to stand up for their rights at work. The third is to send a message to any other person who may be tempted to join a trade union.

There has been always a major gap in legislation in this state when it comes to anti-victimisation measures. It is welcome that there are provisions in the Bill that provide further protection for workers. It is a credit to the Minister of State and the Government that they have included these elements in the Bill. In the case of the Dunnes Stores workers, Mandate has clearly indicated where it sees potential for the victimisation of workers.That is the problem with such contracts. If anyone steps out of line, joins a trade union or wears a trade union pin, he or she will not get the hours. It would not make sense, when we look at what has happened in Great Britain and the huge controversy caused by the reports and findings following investigations on blacklisting, to suggest it would not happen here. In fact, many people have come to me, primarily in the construction sector but it happens in other sectors also, to tell me that they have been blacklisted because they stood up for themselves and their fellow employees. As a result, they are unable to find jobs or if they do, they will only last a week or two.

The amendments seek to deal with the issue of blacklisting in a satisfactory way. Amendment No. 7 reads: "In page 16, line 36, after “not” to insert “blacklist,”. Amendment No. 8 reads:

In page 16, between lines 36 and 37, to insert the following:“(a) trade union membership or activity,”.