Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome the teachers from Grafton College. I also welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, to the House. What we witnessed this week at Grafton College serves to highlight how badly needed regulation in this sector is for workers. Grafton College represents another fiasco surrounding an English language school that has flagrantly disregarded existing workers rights legislation and has left another 23 workers abandoned by their employer, empty handed without their hard earned wages.

On Second Stage of this Bill, I spoke of a similar incident which occurred last March in Limerick, where another English language school collapsed without warning. We now know that the owner purchased that school in 2017 for €100. He had no idea how to run a business and he drove the school into insolvency, leaving not only students but teachers, high and dry. What happened in Limerick and what has happened this week at Grafton College has been allowed to happen because of a severe lack of regulation in the industry. We cannot allow this to continue. Teachers and students need certainty and protection. For this reason, I support these amendments, in particular amendments Nos. 58, 59 and 66.

While I acknowledge that a lot of good work has been done on this Bill, to deal with the issue of regulation without addressing the pressing needs of workers is akin to deciding to paint a house, forgetting that it is on fire. This is too important an issue to address it in that way. It would send out a negative signal not only to the people in the Public Gallery today but workers throughout Ireland engaged in this sector if the Minister of State does not take the opportunity of this Bill to address these key concerns. I thank my colleague, Senator Ruane, and colleagues of the Labour Party for these amendments, which provide us with the means to address those concerns.

On amendment No. 66, if this House is in agreement that the best way to regulate the English language sector is through the awarding of an International Education Mark, IEM, then we must ensure that the standards we set for schools to attain that mark include a strong and rigorous application of workers' rights, otherwise little will change for those who currently work in the sector. It is, therefore, essential that the IEM includes provisions which set standards for how we expect employers to act in this sector. For this reason, Sinn Féin will be supporting Senator Ruane's amendment to section 61 of the principal Act. Under the International Education Mark, if a school were to contravene, for example, health and safety regulations, it would be sanctioned and it could potentially lose its IEM accreditation. Amendment No. 66 seeks the application of the same consequences where a school contravenes employment regulations. Senator Ruane's amendment sets out some of these basic standards, including that the school must be in compliance with section 9 of the Fixed Term Working Act 2003; it must not engage in bogus self employment; it must pay workers for work outside of class contract hours and it must adhere to the Working Time Act and the Paternal Leave Act. In this regard, all we are doing is bringing the English language sector in line with existing employment standards.

I have a background in trade union work. I have spoken to my colleagues in Unite and I know first-hand the horror stories in this sector. It would be a missed opportunity if the Minister of State did not use this Bill to address those issues, otherwise we are failing thousands of workers who deserve better.

The consequences of not adhering to such basic provisions include that a school will not be granted an International Education Mark by the Department. We do not accept the response we received on Second Stage from the Minister of State to the effect that a worker in the sector should use existing law and take a case to the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. The reality is that a worker on a short-term contract will never take a case to the WRC because to do so would mean his or her contract would not be renewed. I know this to be the case. The Department needs to take responsibility for the abuse of workers' rights in the education sector rather than off-loading it to the WRC.

Amendment No. 58 addresses minimum employment standards for teachers. While we welcome the principle of the Bill we also recognise there is a distinct lack of focus therein on regulating employment practices in the sector. This is a sector characterised by low pay, precarious employment and a prevailing culture of disregard for workers' rights. For example, we are aware that fixed-term contracts are abused by employers on a regular basis. They are misused and over-used to control workers. Teachers are often released prior to Christmas and re-hired in January so that the payment of holiday pay can be avoided, which is a scandalous practice that has been happening for years. Zero-hour contracts are rife in the sector, as is bogus self employment. This is the reality for workers in the English language sector. Neither the Department nor the Minister for Education and Skills can continue to turn a blind eye to this abuse and expect the WRC to deal with the consequences. Most workers, especially those on short-term fixed contracts, will not take a case to the WRC because they know if they do so when their contracts expire they will not be renewed. It is for this reason we need to ensure that this legislation provides for minimum employment standards for teachers as a key pillar of any code of practice which employers must meet to be awarded an International Education Mark.

On amendment No. 59, proposed by my colleagues in the Labour Party, if we are serious about regulating this sector then we need to consult with the appropriate stakeholders. This amendment must be accepted to ensure the relevant authority must consult with trade unions on how the Department specifies its requirements in subsection (8).We must remember the fantastic work carried out for years by Unite the Union in the sector and the input of its organiser, Mr. Roy Hassey, who has had an important role in strengthening sections of the Bill in the interests of workers in the sector. We must respect the experience and knowledge that Unite the Union has in the sector and we agree it is vital the Department consult with unions, such as Unite the Union, during the implementation and ongoing governance of the Bill to ensure workers' rights are maintained to a very high standard.

The Minister of State has an opportunity today. I hope she will take it and that she will listen not just to a range of voices in the Chamber but, more important, to the people here watching and listening who are desperately in need of support and recognition that things need to change.