I move:—
That Dáil Éireann is of the opinion that proposals for legislation should be introduced to amend the Agricultural Wages Act, 1936, so as to provide that the ordinary members of committees of agricultural wages areas and of the Agricultural Wages Board who are to be regarded as persons representative of agricultural employees shall be appointed by the Minister from a panel constituted of persons nominated thereto by trade unions representative of agricultural workers; that each county shall constitute a separate agricultural wages district; that a quorum for the Agricultural Wages Board shall consist of one-third of the members of the board and that the board may determine questions by a simple majority vote; and, finally, that every agricultural employee whose employment comes within the provisions of the Act, or any statutory Order made under the Act, shall be supplied by his employer with a printed statement of the rate of wages, and conditions of employment applicable to him, such statements to be on sale in appropriate form in all post offices.
In suggesting that proposals for legislation should be introduced to amend the Agricultural Wages Act, 1936, we realise and appreciate the advantages which accrued from that Act in the past. It was introduced at a time when it was vitally necessary to provide legislation giving effect to certain improvements in the lot of the worker in rural Ireland. Many years have passed and, no matter how well-intentioned a Minister or a Government may be, as time goes on there are bound to be certain flaws. It is our duty when such flaws are discovered to suggest the manner in which these flaws should be remedied.
Firstly, in relation to the appointment of representatives of the agricultural workers themselves, we suggest that the ordinary worker should have representation on the board. In order to implement that, we suggest that the Minister appoint such representatives from a panel submitted by a trade union organisation responsible for looking after the interests of the workers in question. The Minister may say that the trade union organisation as it exists is not at the moment representative of every county; the organisation may not be of such a high level that the Minister would be satisfied to accept such representation in relation to every county. On that, we are quite prepared to agree that such appointments will not be made until the Minister is satisfied that such trade union representation is available.
Looking back on the experiences of the past in relation to the selection of representatives on the main board and on the regional boards it is possible to find some criticism of the nominees placed on these boards for the purpose of representing the workers. Our concern is to ensure that the workers will at all times be satisfied beyond all doubt that the men who purport to represent them are genuinely doing so and are not just individuals foisted on the workers.
Instead of having regional boards, we are of the opinion that separate boards or units should be established in each county. We all know that conditions vary from county to county. It is for that reason that we think it would be more than desirable to have separate units in each county. At the present moment a regional board meets in Limerick and that board embraces, as well as Limerick, Kerry, Cork and Clare. I think it would imbraces prove the Act considerably if it were amended in such a way as to provide separate units within the counties themselves. It may be argued that that would make for more expensive administration but I hold that, in dealing with a measure which so vitally affects the welfare of the rural community, we ought not to consider the possible expense incurred but rather the ultimate benefits which will be conferred.
Thirdly, we hold that every employer should have available at the disposal of his employee the statutory Orders issued from time to time. Cases arise in which employees are not familiar with the scales of wages in operation in particular areas. They may not be familiar with the reductons that an employer is entitled to make in the case of a man living indoor or of the allowance in respect of gardens, etc. Very often disputes arise because of ignorance of the regulations. If this information were readily available, both the employer and the employee would be aware of the regulations and conditions and there would be no ground for subsequent complaint. Unfortunately, there are employers who will take advantage of the men working under them. The result of that can been seen in the number of visits that the inspectors of the Agricultural Wages Board have to make. I give credit to those inspectors for attending to their duties in a most satisfactory manner considering the large areas over which they have to operate. On the other hand, there are cases where the culprit may be the employee and not the employer. I have known a specific instance where a certain man who was quite prepared to work for a particular farmer did not succeed in finding employment because another man—and sometimes the other man may be a neighbour—went to the farmer and suggested that he would work for less than the fixed rate. Human nature being what it is, I suppose if the employer thinks he can get away with it we cannot blame him for employing a man who is prepared to work at a lower rate. But, of course, according to the law as it stands, the farmer has no protection afterwards by saying that the employee was quite prepared to work at the lower rate.
In this motion we are not approaching the matter in any critical manner in so far as the Act has been in operation as a whole. But we do believe, as many people of rural Ireland believe, that there are certain flaws that could have been and should by now have been removed. That is the main purpose of the motion. We are putting these points before the Minister and I would be anxious for the Minister to say whether he is prepared to have this legislation passed in 1936 amended with a view to making the improvements which are necessary. If that is done, it will be an advantage to these people in rural Ireland. We all complain at times about the emigration from rural Ireland. If we want to stem that emigration from those areas and make people satisfied to work on the land, we should give them proper conditions. By doing that we will help to make these workers in rural Ireland prosperous and also bring prosperity to the farmer, which is so much needed at present.