Enactment of collective bargaining is a ground breaking reform

16 July 2015

by Cllr Joe Costello

Speaking in the Dáil today Dublin Central Labour TD Joe Costello stated that the passage of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2015 is ground breaking.

Deputy Costello commented: “This Bill is the most far reaching package of legislative provisions on industrial relations in decades.  In the first instance, it provides for collective bargaining.  Collective bargaining is one of the long-cherished objectives of the trade union movement.  It was a key demand of James Larkin in 1913, and if granted at the time would have prevented the famous Lockout.  Collective bargaining will ensure that employees will have a forum for representation when they seek to negotiate improvements in pay and conditions.  They can no longer be ignored.  The recent Dunnes Stores strike would almost certainly have been avoided if collective bargaining was in place.

“The Bill also provides for the introduction of Registered Employment Agreements (REAs), which were struck down by the Supreme Court on Constitutional grounds.  REAs were a key component of the industrial relations machinery in many sectors of employment. Their absence created industrial instability. Their restoration will be widely welcomed.   Indeed in the negotiations on the recent sale of Aer Lingus, it was a condition of trade union acceptance that REAs would be reintroduced for many categories of workers in the airline.

“When we combine these measures with the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015, which has also passed the House recently and which is due to publish its first report next week on low pay, we have now greatly enhanced the industrial relations machinery of Ireland.  Together, they constitute a substantial corpus of statutory provisions that will modernise industrial relations and will put the relationship between employer and employee on a sound and civilised basis.

“The Labour Party is the party of work.  We are committed to growing the economy and creating employment for the Irish people. But we are determined that the recovery that is now well under way puts people first in terms of decent pay and conditions for a fair day’s work.  That is what has now been achieved with this ground breaking legislation.”