Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. What plans and measures are in place, including legislative measures, to implement the EU directive on adequate minimum wages, which I understand was published in October 2022 and must be transposed into Irish law by 15 November 2024?I am concerned that we have not seen legislative measures and legislation coming through the Houses. I am not aware of any statutory instruments put in place regarding the transposition, even though it has been very strongly signalled by the key parties and relevant stakeholders, including the unions, that legislative measures are required to ensure proper and full transposition. I agree with them. I am going to focus on two articles in particular.

Article 4 concerns the requirement that EU member states would promote and increase the coverage of collective bargaining rights in terms of wage setting for workers, and that enabling conditions would be created in states such as Ireland where the collective bargaining rate is less than the threshold of 80%. Such enabling conditions for collective bargaining would be put in place either by law, after consulting the social partners, or by agreement with them. The intention is that there would be an action plan to promote collective bargaining. I would like to know what is in the action plan. Ireland is not just below the 80% threshold - we have a rate of 22% even though research has shown that over two thirds of workers would like to be in a union and would like to engage in collective bargaining. Certain obstacles have been highlighted in that regard. The Minister of State will be aware of the Respect at Work campaign, which has highlighted the issue of union busting and the penalisation of organisers and those who seek to support the organisation of collective bargaining. The campaign has highlighted certain measures that are needed, gaps in the Unfair Dismissals Act and problems in some other parts of our legislation that need to be strengthened to ensure persons feel free and able to join a union. These key things need to be addressed as part of Ireland moving from the very low threshold of 22% towards the 80% goal under the directive.

I wish to highlight Article 5 as a specific focus. It requires EU member states to set the minimum wage at a level for workers which allows them to "[achieve] a decent standard of living, [reduce] in-work poverty, [promote] social cohesion and upward social convergence, and [reduce] the gender-pay gap". There is a reason that the word "adequate" is in the title of the adequate minimum wage directive. Adequacy is the key test of a minimum wage. However, Ireland’s legislation for the Low Pay Commission - the Government has indicated that is where it sees this being addressed – does not include the phrase "adequacy". It is not a test. I am aware of this as I worked for the National Women’s Council of Ireland. When that legislation was going through, we highlighted adequacy as a gap. Instead, the Low Pay Commission is told to consider things like competitiveness and what is fair and sustainable. It is not explicitly asked to consider adequacy. I have tabled a very simple Bill that seeks to add adequacy as one of the factors to be considered by the Low Pay Commission in the setting of the minimum wage. That very small legislative change would make it more possible for the Low Pay Commission to deliver on the obligations under Article 5 of the EU directive, which specifically requires that criteria in respect of adequacy be applied. I ask the Minister of State to address those two articles in particular, as well as the wider question of the transposition.