David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 9:

In page 17, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following:“(6) The Minister may authorise other persons, including designated union officials, to carry out inspections and monitoring of Registered Employment Agreements, Registered Employment Orders and Employment Regulation Orders.

(7) The Minister may make regulations providing access, for union officials, to the workplace and employees for the purpose of this Act.

(8) An employer shall not coerce workers to relinquish or abstain from a registered employment agreement.”.

These three amendments have been tabled to provide access to workplaces for designated union officials, to provide a right for employees to be represented by a trade union in their place of work and to ensure compliance by employers. Prior to the McGowan judgment, these entitlements were part and parcel of the REA framework underpinning the right of an individual to trade union representation and all that it entailed. We had this discussion on Second Stage in identifying one of the perceived weaknesses in the Bill, namely, the voluntary element of the collective bargaining framework being put in place. This goes back to a fundamental right workers should have, that is, to be represented by their trade union in their place of work or at an employment rights body. The reason workers join trade unions in the first place is that if they find themselves in difficulty or conflict with their employer, many of them obviously will not understand the myriad industrial relations laws and the maze the employment rights bodies can be. Even though it has been simplified by the Government through the Workplace Relations Commission, it is still quite onerous for workers to understand exactly what they are entitled to and to negotiate with employers.

Sometimes, because of the power structure, employers hold all of the cards. They are the ones who employ and it is very difficult for employees to even raise questions about their terms and conditions of employment, let alone engage in conflict. That is why we have trade unions. They are skilled, understand industrial relations law, are qualified, can properly represent workers and make sure they have fair representation. It would be preposterous if trade union officials were not able to be present in a person's workplace to try to solve problems, given that part of their remit is try to find solutions to workplace problems where there is conflict. We would see these amendments as strengthening the Bill and they would certainly be welcomed by the trade unions involved. As I said, trade unions should be entitled to represent their members' interests and should have access to workplaces. If the amendments were accepted to be by the Minister, it would strengthen the overall intent of the Bill.