Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I warmly welcome this Bill and I thank Senator Ruane and the Civil Engagement Group for bringing it forward. The Labour Party is very happy to support this Bill. We have spoken a great deal in recent years about believing, listening to and supporting women but that talk is hollow unless we act and legislate to fight harassment and abuse with the powers available to us as legislators. I was struck, when thinking about the Bill during the past week, about the lack of information that we have about NDAs in this country. By definition, there are no register or data available. I commend Senator Ruane on the Bill but also on promoting awareness around the use of such agreements. In some ways, we are using the phrase “non-disclosure agreements” here but to many of those who have been forced to sign them do not know what they are signing other than that it is a tool of silence so that the wrong that was initially perpetrated against them is reinforced again by ensuring that they never talk up. I commend all of the efforts in the online surveys and public events to raise that general awareness.

In essence, this Bill seeks to address that power imbalance in the worker-employer relationship. As I have just said, in many cases this is just reinforcing the initial wrong that was perpetrated against that worker. We know that this has taken place across almost every sector. I think of my own time working as a SIPTU official and of some of the cases that we came to learn about and understand where there was an attempt to silence women, in particular, because of what went on.

I am also thinking more recently of the Irish traditional music scene where there has been the harrowing testimony of women who were assaulted and discriminated against. They have not necessarily been subjected to the signing of NDAs but it is that culture of secrecy and the fear of what repercussions will follow if indeed people talk up. This is very much a workers rights’ Bill in that regard and one that we are very proud to support.

I am also struck because the UK Government announced plans to enact such a Bill in 2019 but we have yet to see any progress in that. Indeed, the Archbishop of Canterbury was urging members in the Church of England to cease the use of NDAs to cover up instances of racism within their own church hierarchy. It is only through legislation and leadership among organisations that this issue can be addressed.

I welcome what Senator Seery Kearney said in respect of lawyers and the responsibilities they have and, in particular, the Bar Council and Law Society, to influence their members as to the use of these agreements.

My final point is that I am particularly heartened to see that this is an amendment to the Employment Equality Act 1998 rather than just a stand-alone Bill because workplace harassment is an affront to employment equality. In 2019, the International Labour Organization, ILO, devoted its entire convention of that year to harassment and violence in the workplace. It identified the use of NDAs, arising from the #MeToo movement, as one of the tools used and abused by employers to try to silence people within the workplace.

Senator Ruane or possibly Senator Higgins spoke earlier about Ireland perhaps being one of the first countries to put legislation in place. That would be a very positive and proud achievement if we were to do that because we have not seen legislative action in other countries. It is something, however, that is certainly needed here and I commend and support the Bill.