Written answers
Thursday, 15 September 2022
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Industrial Relations
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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39. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to the fact identified by the European Directive on the minimum wage that Member States with high collective bargaining coverage tend to have a low share of low-wage workers; the actions that his Department proposes to take to increase collective bargaining coverage in the private sector; and if he has received any report from a group (details supplied) to review collective bargaining, union recognition and the workplace relations framework. [45117/22]
Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The High-Level Group on Collective Bargaining which was formed under the auspices of the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) has very recently submitted its Final Report for consideration. The EU Directive on the Minimum Wage was one of the issues which the Group were considering as part of its work.
It has been the consistent policy of successive Irish Governments to promote collective bargaining through the laws of this country and through the development of an institutional framework supportive of a voluntary system of industrial relations that is premised upon freedom of contract and freedom of association.
There is an extensive range of statutory provisions designed to back up the voluntary bargaining process. The freedom of association and the right to organise and bargain collectively are also guaranteed in a number of international instruments which the State has ratified and which it is, therefore, bound to uphold under international law.
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