Seanad debates

Thursday, 15 July 2021

Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages

 

9:30 am

Photo of Paul GavanPaul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 6, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following: “(b) The Commission shall not include in a published decision the name of a party to proceedings where it is felt that to do so would detrimentally impact on either party specifically with reference to the capacity of a party to secure employment in the future.”.

As the Minister of State knows, we will support the Bill. It is important to pass it and, to be clear, we will not delay it today in any way. He had a good debate with my colleague, Deputy O'Reilly, in the Dáil about this. I will speak to these three amendments together because they are classed as such and are, effectively, trying to do the same thing. I proposed them to ensure that a worker's name is not included in a published decision where it might impact on his or her ability to secure future employment.

I will refer back to my time as a trade union official and the difficulties that can occur for employees in difficult cases. I will give a concrete example from Limerick. A particular employee in a service sector job had a hard time from her employer in all sorts of ways. One of the issues that infuriated her were discrepancies in her pay. I represented this employee and, as the Minister of State knows, at that time the company's name was, typically, published but the employee's name was not. The difficulty and concern she had was that Limerick is a small place and if someone is trying to get work in the hospitality sector there it could jeopardise his or her chances if his her name is published in respect of a case. It could make employers think, "Well hold on, if this person has taken a case against an employer, do I really want the person coming to work for myself?"

The amendment addresses that type of circumstance where there is a particular vulnerability. We are not suggesting that employees' names are not published. We are simply suggesting that the Bill has discretion when the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, appreciates there is a particular vulnerability. Let us be clear: the vulnerability is often on the employee's side in these matters. We are looking for flexibility in order that the employee's name would not have to be mentioned. The Minister of State knows where we are coming from on this matter. I do not intend to speak at length about it but would like to hear his opinion at this point in time.

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