Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Section 14 of the Bill provides that a trade union of workers or a trade union 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, request the Labour Court to examine the terms and conditions related to the remuneration and the sick pay or pension of workers in the sector and request the court to make a recommendation to the Minister on the matter.Accordingly, the Labour Court examination will be confined to the consideration of remuneration, as defined, and sick pay and pension provisions. The hours of work would not come within the scope of the court's examination and, therefore, it would not be appropriate for the court to include hours of work in a recommendation. Moreover, hours of work are already covered, generally, by the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. Therefore, I cannot accept this amendment.