Joe Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 118: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he is satisfied with the level of compliance by employers in relation to payment of contributions to the CIF sick pay and pensions fund on behalf of construction workers; his views on whether independent monitoring of employer compliance may be necessary; his proposals regarding same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31617/05]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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A registered employment agreement provides for the establishment of the construction federation operatives pension scheme, generally referred to as CFOPS.

A registered employment agreement is an agreement that is negotiated between two parties, for example, a body representative of employers and a similar group representative of employees, who are all engaged in the same sector of activity in the economy. The agreement, once finalised between the contracting parties, is then registered with the Labour Court. Having completed that process the terms of the agreement are binding nationally for all employers and all workers covered by the categories of work included in the agreement.

A board of trustees comprising an independent chair together with five members, each nominated by the CIF and the union side respectively, administers CFOPS. Broadly speaking, monitoring of compliance with the CFOPS is a matter for signatories to the agreement. To assist them in this task they established the Construction Industry Monitoring Agency, known as CIMA, for that purpose. CIMA is independent of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. In processing a case of non-compliance CIMA ultimately refers matters to the Labour Court, which will hold a hearing and, if satisfied as to non-compliance, issues an order against the employer concerned. The court may ask the labour inspectorate for assistance in checking records.

There are also provisions in legislation whereby a trade union, an association of employers or an individual employer may complain to the Labour Court that a particular employer is not complying with a registered employment agreement. If, after investigating a complaint, the court is satisfied that the employer is in breach it may by order direct compliance with the agreement. Failure to comply with such an order is an offence punishable by a fine.

Compliance with CFOPS has been an issue of concern for some while and it prompted the Pensions Board to engage Mercer Consultants to carry out a review. Mercer's report was recently published and it sets out a range of proposals that focus on a range of issues including compliance. The proposals in the Mercer report are being considered by the parties to the registered employment agreement.

Those recommendations of the Mercer report that may impinge on the activities of the labour inspectorate will be considered by the Department, together with the social partners, in the context of ongoing work concerning the mandate and resourcing of the labour inspectorate.