Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 February 2023
90. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if preparatory work has begun to incorporate into legislation the recommendations on collective bargaining made by the high-level group on collective bargaining and industrial relations; if he will provide a timeline as to when the matter will be legislated for; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9169/23]
View answerWe did not think we would get to this question this morning. This question, like all my questions, is very straightforward. It asks if preparatory work has been done to incorporate into legislation recommendations on collective bargaining made by the high-level group on collective bargaining and industrial relations. Will the Minister provide a timeline as to when this matter will be legislated for? This relates to the transposition of a directive. I would be interested to hear the Minister's views as to how quickly this can be done and how much work has been done to date.
I thank the Deputy for this question. I do not think either of us thought it would be reached, but it is good it has been.
This was discussed quite recently at a meeting of the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, between Ministers, employer representatives and representatives of trade unions. The high-level working group's recommendations will now be taken into consideration. They are going to a subgroup of the LEEF where we will discuss this and work it out.
There are also, parallel to this, new European instructions to a recommendation on social dialogue whereby Ireland will have to engage with the European Commission as well as with other EU member states to see if we can maintain our levels of collective bargaining up to what is the agreed European rate. Let us be frank; we are not probably where we should be-----
No, we are not.
-----but we are ahead of some EU member states. There is an appetite between the employer group representatives and the trade unions to work with the Government to make sure we can achieve this in a timely manner.
We are absolutely miles away compared with many other European countries. We need to start making these moves very quickly. I do not necessarily agree with every single one of the recommendations that were made, but we need to start having that discussion here and broadening it out. I respect the fact there must be discussions with the Commission, but I would like to see some domestic focus on this in order that we bring in as many voices as we possibly can. We can see the disparity. There is a value to every worker in terms of money, not just in terms and conditions but in terms and conditions as well, in being a trade union member. What we have now, however, is a State where trade union membership is in decline for various and many reasons. There is an onus now to bring that coverage, by collective bargaining, up to 80%. That will be a challenge. The quicker that work gets under way, the better for everyone, and I mean the better for all the people who are desperately waiting on it because they want to see the bonus that comes from being a trade union member in their back pockets.
I fully agree with the Deputy. An efficient collective bargaining system is not just in the interest of the workers but also in the interest of the employers and, most importantly, the interest of the economy and society as a whole. We appreciate, and I agree with the Deputy, that 80% will be a challenge, but it is a challenge the Government is very much keen to rise to. The process has begun and, in due course, bringing in Members of the Oireachtas as part of that implementation process will be very important. I look forward to engaging with the Deputy on that in the future.
Does the Minister of State have a timeline as to when this matter will be legislated for? I understand there is a timeline dictated by the European Union, but preparatory work also has to be under way. The report is done but the discussions now need to be had as to how that can be transposed into our system, which is primarily a voluntary system. If there is 80% collective bargaining coverage, that gives workers good power to negotiate at the level of their workplace. While it will still be voluntary, they will have a little more push to ensure their voices are heard. I am just concerned there will be some drift while there are discussions happening in several places. We just need to know not only that this is being knitted together but also that there is a timeline in place and that the Department has sight of when this legislation will be ready. I do not think the legislation will be quick or easy to do, but it is extremely important we get it right.
As I mentioned, the Labour Employer Economic Forum discussed this last month. There will be a meeting of the subgroup to discuss this in March. Following that meeting, we will look at any legislative process, but that will be in discussion with European colleagues to see if we can meet the European ambitions as were announced at the Council meeting just two weeks ago.
Are you happy, Deputy?
Delighted.
