Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chair. I think he has taken about 18 seconds off me but we will pardon him that. I was talking about the importance of the EU directive on adequate minimum wages. It is crucial to say that this is not about hiking wages but ensuring there is a framework for workers to negotiate sustainable terms and conditions within their sector and employment. The question is about the timeline and process. What is the Department's plan to transpose this legislation? When are we likely to get the heads of Bill? We know that the Taoiseach, when he was the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, stated last October that he hoped to transpose this legislation by the end of 2023. Some doubt has been cast on that by the ministerial guidance provided to the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, this year. It is vital that we get this process started sooner rather than later.

Much of the legwork to put in place a comprehensive framework for better collective bargaining rights in this country was undertaken by the high-level group on collective bargaining, chaired by Professor Michael Doherty, who published his report last summer. It is vital that we have an understanding of the timeline. It is important because we know that more than one in four people in this country are low-paid. They are in the sectors that we are all too familiar with, including the care sector in communities and homes, hospitality, retail, agriculture, leisure and a range of other sectors. Just because we have so-called full employment right now, with major worker shortages, I appeal to the Minister of State not to fall into the trap of believing that people can leave those low-paid sectors, up sticks and get jobs elsewhere. They are there because they love their jobs and have trained for them. It is what they know and where they want to stay. They want to improve the conditions in their own sector.

The Minister of State's Department has not covered itself in glory with regard to defending workers' rights over the past year. Joint labour committees for the contract cleaning and security sectors were supposed to be the good news stories with regard to how the State supports collective bargaining.Yet on three separate occasions last year the Department did not even bother to turn up to court, even though the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment was being injuncted to prevent him from signing into law the security sector wage agreement. We were assured by the then Minister of State, Deputy English, the then Tánaiste and now Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, and officials in the Department that they were working to resolve this issue but in August and, in particular, November and December, the Department failed to turn up in court. I tuned into proceedings on 21 December. It made a laughing stock of the State when the solicitor for those taking the judicial review, when asked what engagement there had been with the other side, said contact could not be made with the State. When the judge gave a date for the hearing he said that maybe "they" would turn up the next time, "they" being the Government. This is a very sorry and poor reflection of the Department's attitude towards workers' rights. I very much hope the Department will show much more enthusiasm, or at least a willingness, to transpose the spirit and intention of the adequate minimum wages directive because it is vital for workers in this country. There are 16,000 security workers depending on the Minister of State and the Department to sign the wage agreement into law. The very least the State could do is turn up to court and defend their interests.