Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----so it needs to be clarified whether there is an elected representative acting as a Russian spy or otherwise, notwithstanding if no law has effectively been broken.

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to take No. 12, Workplace Relations (Exemplary Damages, Unfair Dismissals and Other Provisions) Bill 2024 as the first item. The purpose of this Bill is effectively to bring up to date the sanctions for bad employer behaviour. We have a bizarre situation where certain breaches of employment law incur very minor penalties, only to cover the losses to the worker in question, whereas other breaches, such as a breach of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, incur very serious penalties and the heavy wrath of the courts. There is an inconsistency there. It is sending a conflicting signal as to what is okay and what is not okay in respect of abuses of workers within the workplace. While it is important to say that we have many good employers, a cohort has attempted to act with impunity and it is only when cases go to the WRC that they are caught. The penalties for their activities have been very minor.

We had a case this year of a takeaway delivery drive who was made to earn €5 an hour and was unfairly dismissed. He was awarded only €1,500 in total to cover his losses. The Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 caps payouts at four weeks' pay and only allows for compensation based on workers’ actual losses. Unfairly dismissed workers have to demonstrate that they are seeking work after the dismissal. Not only are they unfairly dismissed, they then have to prove they are actively seeking work. It totally deflects from the wrongdoing at the heart of the employer.

This is an important piece in updating our workers’ rights legislation. It is about sending a message that bad employer behaviour will not be tolerated. We had the case of Meta last week in Clonee where effectively a company worker is reporting to us that they are being pressurised because of joining the trade union. We need to ensure that all workers in this country are free to join trade unions and be represented by them.