Seanad debates

Tuesday, 7 July 2015

Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2015: Committee Stage

 

2:30 pm

Photo of Gerald NashGerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have an opportunity to respond to Senator Cullinane who made some very important points. I am also pleased that he very responsibly pointed out the constraints and limitations in terms of the Constitution, because not everybody who is contributing to the debate acknowledges that. Senator Cullinane has widely acknowledged the point, not just today but regularly in his public commentary on the issue. There is very little point in discussing the matter without recognising the constitutional constraints. It is another argument as to whether that would be addressed at some stage in the future. The proposed legislation has the potential to transform relationships between employers and employees in this country. We will have a legally and constitutionally robust system.

In talking about mandatory trade union recognition we must look at the experience of analogous countries across Europe. In countries where there is mandatory trade union recognition we must be conscious of the different models that are applied. From my experience of speaking to trade unionists internationally, I am aware that in some countries where mandatory trade union recognition is available they might prefer to have the collective bargaining model we seek to introduce because the bar is set so high in some mandatory regimes as to make it ineffective. We must have an honest discussion about what mandatory trade union recognition would look like, how it is modelled elsewhere, and how it works elsewhere in practice. I am convinced that the legislation we hope to see enacted in this country will have the potential to transform industrial relations in this country in a positive way and to rebalance the agenda in some respects.

The purpose of this amendment is to remove the reference to the term “voluntary” from the proposed definition of collective bargaining in section 23. In developing these legislative proposals, the Government has been keen to respect the positions articulated by stakeholders to develop proposals that sustain our voluntary system.It also ensures that workers have confidence that, where there is no collective bargaining, they have an effective system that ensures they can air grievances about remuneration, terms and conditions and have these determined by the Labour Court, if necessary, based on those in similar companies and secured by way of Circuit Court Order.

Worker and employer stakeholders have played a very critical role in assisting Government to develop a clear and workable framework in this area, in the spirit of social dialogue and partnership. In this context, the definition of collective bargaining, provided for in section 23, was the subject of very detailed consideration by me, by my Department and employer and worker representatives. It has been agreed, in essence, with those stakeholder interests in the spirit of collaboration, partnership and very real social dialogue.

It is important to remember as well that it has been the consistent policy of successive Irish Governments to promote collective bargaining, through the laws of this country and through the development of an institutional framework, supportive of a voluntary system of industrial relations that is premised upon the freedom of contract and freedom of association. However, we will not go into the constitutional arguments about that, at this point.

The system has, notwithstanding all the points made by Senator Cullinane, served the country well in delivering industrial peace and economic development in recent years. It has made a significant contribution to our economic success in the two decades preceding 2008. It remains central to sustaining Ireland’s economic recovery. I think it will be instrumental in delivering a fair and balanced recovery.

The principle of volunteerism is also recognised at an international level. Article 4 of ILO Convention 98 is on the right to organise and collective bargaining. It states:

Measures appropriate to national conditions shall be taken, where necessary, to encourage and promote the full development and utilisation of machinery for voluntary negotiation between employers or employers' organisations and workers' organisations, with a view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment by means of collective agreements.
Accordingly, I cannot accept the amendment.

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