asked the Minister for Labour if he will state in respect of legislation promoted by his Department: (a) the reason his Department promoted the exclusion of some employees of a limited liability company (details supplied) from the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973, and, consequently, from the Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act, 1984; and (b) the reference and date(s) of decisions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act and the Merchant Shipping Act, affecting any of the employers involved in the appeal; the decision of the tribunal; and the decision, if any, of the courts.
Written Answers. - Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973.
414.
When the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973, was being enacted, it was not considered appropriate to include within the scope of its application seamen employed under employment agreements pursuant to Part II of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, because those seamen were already covered by agreements specified under statute with their employers.
Under the Merchant Shipping Acts, the master of every Irish ship is required, before taking the vessel to sea, to enter into a written agreement with each seaman in a form approved by the Minister indicating, inter alia, as far as practicable, the duration or maximum period of the intended voyage or engagement. The agreement must be entered into in the presence of a mercantile marine superintendent or other proper officer, and such a person must also be present and officiate at the termination of the agreement.
I understand that the Employment Appeals Tribunal has issued a formal decision in only one such case to date (ref. no. M77/85). The tribunal decided on 17 September 1985 that the employee concerned had no statutory entitlement under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973. I understand further that, in a number of similar appeals by other employees of Irish Shipping Limited, tribunal hearings have taken place but that formal decisions have not yet been issued, although in some cases decisions have been announced by the chairman at the conclusion of the hearings. I also understand that further Irish Shipping Limited cases are awaiting hearing. I am not aware that any claims under the 1973 Act by seamen employed by Irish Shipping Limited have been referred to the courts.