Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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326. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on a report (details supplied) by the Young Workers Network, and especially the finding that 90% of those under 35 years of age struggle, due to low pay and zero hour contracts. [23326/15]

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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I note the findings of the survey which the Young Workers Network conducted on the working lives of the under 35s, with particular reference to low pay and Zero Hours Contracts. I understand that they have forwarded the findings to the University of Limerick for consideration in the context of the study I commissioned UL to carry out, following a competitive tendering process, into the prevalence of zero-hour and low-hour contracts and their impact on employees.

The study has a broad scope, covering both the public and private sectors, with a particular focus on the retail, hospitality, education and health sectors. It will fill the gap in knowledge that currently exists in terms of the hard data and information that is available concerning the prevalence of zero hour and low hour contracts in the Irish economy. The study will examine how such contracts operate in practice and assess the advantages and disadvantages from the perspective of employer and employee. It will also assess the current employment rights legislation as it applies to employees on such contracts, and consider recent developments in other jurisdictions, including the UK in particular. The findings will enable me to make any evidence-based policy recommendations to Government considered necessary on foot of the study.

A wide range of stakeholders is being canvassed to contribute to the study, which I expect to be completed by the end of the Summer. The Deputy will appreciate that I cannot anticipate the outcome of the study, or the Government’s consideration of the study’s findings.

Making work pay continues to be a cornerstone of this Government’s agenda. In this respect the Government has already introduced a number of measures to enhance workers’ rights, especially the most vulnerable workers in our society. In particular, the Government restored the cut in the national minimum wage initiated by the previous Government, thereby reaffirming that a statutory minimum wage is a statement of core values, providing a threshold of decency under which society agrees that workers’ wages should not fall. The national minimum wage in Ireland is relatively high by international standards. The most recent figures published by Eurostat show that Ireland’s rate is the fifth highest among the 22 EU Member States that have a national minimum wage. When the cost of living is taken into account, Ireland’s rate is the sixth highest. The Government also enacted the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012, to reinstate the Joint Labour Committee system to support wage setting in sectors where workers are poorly organised and vulnerable and wages tend to be low.

The establishment of a Low Pay Commission (LPC) is one of the key commitments in the Statement of Government Priorities agreed in July last year. The National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015 which provides for the establishment of the LPC on a statutory basis was published last month and is currently progressing through the Houses of the Oireachtas. I expect that it will be enacted by the end of next month.

The Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill, which is also currently before the Houses of the Oireachtas, provides for a new statutory framework to replace the former sectoral Registered Employment Agreements (REAs). The Bill will also provide a mechanism for workers who seek to improve their terms and conditions in companies where collective bargaining is not recognised by their employer. When enacted it will ensure that such workers, aided by a trade union, can advance claims about remuneration, terms and conditions and have these determined by the Labour Court based on comparisons with similar companies. The Bill includes strong anti-victimisation protections.

The developments outlined above are all key elements of the dignity of work agenda which this Government is pursuing.

It is also worth noting that the most recent figures for youth unemployment show that the Government is succeeding in its twin track approach of creating the conditions for job growth and helping people back to work, including young people in particular.

For example, the under-25 age group had an unemployment rate of 20.3% at the end of 2014, down from a peak of 33% in early 2012. The absolute number of young unemployed people has fallen substantially – from close to 80,000 on average in 2009 to 47,000 on average in 2014. The most recent figures show youth unemployment down by 10,000 year-on-year to 39,000 in Q4 2014. As a result of this fall, young people now represent 19% of all the unemployed, down from a share of 35% in mid-2008. Based on current trends and projections, the youth unemployment rate should fall below 20% in 2015.