I wish to share my time with Deputy Stanton.
Adjournment Debate. - Sunday Trading.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
For the fourth year in succession we are faced with the prospect of industrial action by retail workers in Dunnes Stores in the run-up to Christmas. SIPTU, the MPGWU and MANDATE have no alternative but to bring the problem to our attention as in the past four months the Government has done nothing to deliver on its promises. Prior to the general election at a meeting in Wynn's Hotel attended by a number of Labour Party Deputies, the Minister of State, Deputy Kitt, who was absent last week when the matter was raised by me and a number of other Deputies, made a pledge to introduce legislation to regulate Sunday trading. He referred to the Protection of Workers (Shops) Bill, 1996, which he introduced on 26 November 1996. It is comprehensive legislation and includes a definition of Sunday work and provisions relating to the prohibition of discrimination, notification of contracts of employment and the appointment of a rights commissioner. It also lists various entitlements and penalties. Its stated objective is to provide protection for those employed in shops which trade on Sundays and where Sunday work is optional as opposed to obligatory. What has the Minister of State done? He has done U-turns and abandoned retail workers in a disgraceful way.
I have not. I am working hard behind the scenes.
I raised this issue last week in the Minister of State's absence because during the general election campaign I met many concerned workers. In carrying out research I discovered the Bill introduced by the Minister of State and was impressed by it. I am perplexed as to why it has not been reintroduced. As the Minister of State is well aware, shop workers are in a weak position. What they are looking for is an opt-out clause, a matter dealt with in the Bill which was introduced by the Minister of State.
There are wider issues that need to be addressed. The role of the family is crucial. In recent months the drugs problem among others has been discussed in the House. If mothers have to leave their families to work on Sundays we only add to the problems. Sporting bodies increasingly find that many of their members have to work on Sundays. Ireland is one of only two countries in Europe which have not introduced regulations to control Sunday trading. There is something wrong when large multiples can trade 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
I appreciate the Minister of State is trying to reach consensus between traders and workers but for the fourth year in succession there is a confrontation between one of the large multiples and its workforce. The multiple in question is refusing to honour the Labour Court's recommendation. It is akin to David and Goliath. The Minister of State whose heart is in the right place has a duty to intervene to protect the workers who are low paid.
There is also the problem of casualisation. The Minister for Finance informed us in recent weeks that the potential pensions bill is enormous. Due to casualisation many workers will depend on social welfare pensions. More than 50 per cent of retail workers are employed on a casual or part-time basis. This is not good.
On a related issue, many small shops in towns and villages are seriously affected by Sunday trading. I ask the Minister of State whose sincerity I acknowledge, to act by introducing legislation. If a referendum is necessary this should be considered.
Deputy Broughan referred to commitments made by me and my party prior to the general election on this issue which was raised last week in my absence when the Minister of State, Deputy Treacy, stood in for me. I understand the Deputy also received a written reply.
Prior to the general election all parties were asked by MANDATE to outline their positions on the question of a referendum. My party stated that if re-elected to Government it would undertake a consultative process with all interested parties — owners, managers of retail outlets, both large and small, unions and consumers — with a view to regulating Sunday trading hours through consensus and agreement.
There are two issues I will address. I am not aware the retail trade generally is threatened by the prospect of industrial action prior to Christmas as alleged by the Deputy. As reported today, there is a disagreement between Dunnes Stores and its employees and their trade unions regarding the implementation of a Labour Court recommendation on the issue of the appropriate rate of pay for employees working on Sundays in the run-up to Christmas. The Labour Court's recommendation, dated 22 August 1997, was that Dunnes Stores pay double time to all employees recruited on or after October 1994 who work "Christmas Sundays" and double time and time off for time worked, in the form of additional leave, for employees recruited prior to October 1994. The Labour Court also recommended that the four Sundays prior to Christmas be regarded as "Christmas Sundays".
I understand Dunnes Stores advised the unions it could not accept the terms of the Labour Court's recommendation. Regrettably further direct negotiations between the company and the unions have failed to resolve the issue. The unions have decided to ballot their members, commencing next Monday, on the issue of industrial action.
What will the Minister of State do?
In these circumstances the Deputy's call for the introduction of legislation to control Sunday trading is misplaced and does not address the issue in this dispute. The issue concerns the rate of pay for Sunday working in the run-up to Christmas, not whether these shops should open on Sundays. What is at issue is not a threatened crisis in the retail trade but a more limited and straightforward dispute in one company as regards the appropriate rate of pay for Sunday work in the weeks immediately preceding Christmas.
I am surprised at the Deputy's great interest in the matter of Sunday trading-Sunday working given that he said little on the matter on Committee Stage of the Organisation of Working Time Bill at the Select Committee on Enterprise and Economic Strategy earlier this year. The Deputy's then colleague, Eithne Fitzgerald, who was responsible for the promotion of the Bill through the Oireachtas, indicated to the House how it addressed the issue of Sunday working — by providing that all those who work on a Sunday should have a statutory entitlement to a Sunday premium. The Bill set down criteria for the calculation of such a premium. These criteria will come into operation when this aspect of the Bill, now enacted, comes into effect early next year.
When the issue of Sunday trading arose at that time some Deputies called for the introduction of legislation to prevent large stores and supermarkets trading on Sundays. Eithne Fitzgerald indicated that the legal advice available to her was that any attempt in legislation to distinguish between shops for the purpose of controlling Sunday trading on the basis of type or size would be vulnerable to constitutional challenge.
That is not what the Minister of State said.
Therefore Sunday trading could not be banned on the basis of square footage or different rules for large and small shops. I understood the Deputy agreed with the line taken by his colleague.
I come now to the issue raised by both Deputies and thank Deputy Stanton for his remarks. While in Opposition I introduced a Private Members' Bill which attempted to allow for voluntary Sunday working. While that Bill was accepted on Second Stage by the then Government, it was overtaken by the Organisation of Working Time Bill and eventually lapsed with the calling of the last general election. However, mindful of what I had been attempting to achieve through my Bill, immediately on taking office I made arrangements to meet representatives of IBEC and ICTU to review the position on Sunday working in the retail sector. Resulting from this dialogue I invited both parties to open discussions with a view to exploring the possibility of an agreement addressing the issue between employer and employee representatives of the main players in the sector. I have offered to assist in this process in any way I can. It is my firm belief that the partnership approach is the cornerstone of any initiative in this area holding out the possibility of a successful conclusion. The social partners are at present considering my proposal and I hope progress will be possible in the immediate future.
I can assure Deputies Stanton and Broughan that I am anxious to advance this issue. I agree with them that workers' rights are at stake. I also agree with Deputy Stanton who raised the overall matter of the smaller shops and their position.
The Minister gave his word before the general election.
It must also be borne in mind that shoppers vote with their feet. We must take account of the fact that it is a complex issue.
In the current Dunnes Stores dispute, it is my view that the type of intervention suggested by the Deputy would be entirely inappropriate. While I am disappointed that the parties were unable to utilise the recommendation of the Labour Court to resolve their dispute, the services of the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court remain available to them. There is ample time for the parties to resume negotiations before the commencement of any threatened industrial action. I urge them to resume negotiations and avoid a damaging dispute which would not be in the interests of the company, its workforce or its customers.