Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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166. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the measures he is taking to address the poor levels of pay in the farm contractor sector; if he will support a call for a minimum rate of pay of €9 per hour; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19690/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Agriculture Workers employed in the farm contractor are covered by the Joint Labour Committee for the Agriculture sector. In 2011, the High Court ruled that certain provision of the Industrial Relations Acts of 1946 and 1990 governing the making of Employment Regulation Orders (EROs) were unconstitutional. The experienced adult rate of pay provided for the Agriculture ERO at the time of the High Court ruling was €9.10 per hour.

The effect of the ruling was that National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) could not enforce the minimum pay and conditions of employment prescribed in EROs in force at the time of the High Court decision.

However, existing contractual rights of workers in sectors covered by EROs were unaffected by the ruling. Contractual rights can be altered only by agreement between the parties involved.

New entrants to employment in JLC sectors after the High Court ruling could be employed on a rate of pay agreed between the worker and the employer, subject only to the terms of the National Minimum Wage.

On 1 October 2013, I published the Report of the Labour Court’s Review of the Joint Labour Committee (JLC) system. The Report owes its genesis to Section 41A of Industrial Relations Act 1946 (inserted by Section 11 of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012) which provides that reviews of each JLC be carried out by the Labour Court, as soon as practicable after the commencement of the Act, and at least once every 5 years thereafter. The review assisted the Labour Court’s deliberations as to whether any JLC should be abolished, maintained in its current form, amalgamated with another JLC or its establishment order amended and the Labour Court is required to make recommendations to the Minister to this effect.

The Court’s recommendation in relation to the Agriculture sector was that the JLC be retained for that sector with reduced scope.

With the exception of the Agriculture JLC, implementation of the recommendations, regarding the scope of the other JLCs were given effect by way of Ministerial Order. As the Agricultural Workers JLC was established under primary legislation, and the scope of the JLC is derived from the definition of “agriculture” in section 1 of the 1976 Industrial Relations Act, any amendment to the scope of the existing JLC will require an amendment to this definition to reflect the Labour Court recommendation. I intend to introduce the necessary amendment to the 1976 Act by way of a Committee Stage amendment to the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2015.

It should be borne in mind that the JLC system provides a framework within which employers and employee representatives can come together voluntarily and negotiate terms and conditions of workers in their respective sector. For vulnerable workers, the advantage of JLCs is that they see fair terms and conditions such as wage rates, sick pay etc. agreed and given effect by ERO, while for some employers, the advantage of the JLC system, based as it is on the principle of self-governance, means that they can agree and set minimum pay and conditions, agree on work practices which are custom-made to their industry – a flexibility which cannot be achieved by primary legislation. Where both parties to a JLC see commonality of purpose and outcome then an agreement may emerge.

This process sits very much within the context of Ireland's voluntarist system of industrial relations.

Making work pay continues to be a cornerstone of this Government’s agenda and the setting up of a Low Pay Commission is one of the key commitments in the Statement of Government Priorities agreed in July last year.

The Commission was launched on the 26th February and it is currently operating on an interim non-statutory basis. Legislation to provide for the establishment of the Commission on a statutory basis has been published and I expect that it will be enacted quickly.

The principal function of the Low Pay Commission will be to annually examine and make recommendations on the national minimum wage, with a view to securing that the minimum wage is adjusted incrementally and progressively increased over time, without damage to enterprise or employment.

The Low Pay Commission will also be able to examine any matter generally related to its functions. A work programme will be agreed by Government and presented to the Commission in each February. Nothing relevant will be excluded from its deliberations.

The Commission sought the views of anyone with an interest in the minimum wage as part of a public consultation process. I understand that submissions are currently being considered and I expect the first report of the Commission by the middle of July.