Thomas P. Broughan
Question:194 Mr. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the current position regarding the Gaeltex factory in Letterkenny, County Donegal. [2198/98]
Written Answers. - Company Closures.
As the Deputy is aware, the Gaeltex factory in Letterkenny closed late last year and the company was put into liquidation. Following the closure, Forbairt, in co-operation with the other development agencies, has been actively working to find a replacement for the Gaeltex operation and to create new employment opportunities for the workers who have lost their jobs.
Already a former director of Gaeltex, with the support of Forbairt, is in the process of establishing a new clothing operation in Letterkenny. It is expected that a number of the former workers at Gaeltex will be employed in the new company.
Thomas P. Broughan
Question:195 Mr. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the measures, if any, she is taking to ensure full consultation with workers and their representatives in view of the recent spate of sudden company closures. [2199/98]
The Protection of Employment Act, 1977, as amended by the Protection of Employment Order, 1996, imposes certain obligations on employers who are planning collective redundancies. They are:
(1) At the earliest opportunity and, in any event, at least thirty days before the first dismissal takes effect, employers must initiate consultations with employees' representatives with a view to reaching an agreement. Such consultations must include such matters as the possibility of avoiding the proposed redundancies, reducing the number of employees affected by them or mitigating their consequences by recourse to accompanying social measures aimed, inter alia, at aid for redeploying or retraining employees made redundant.
(2) For the purpose of such consultations, the employers concerned must supply the employees' representatives "with all the relevant information relating to the proposed redundancies".
(3) Employers must notify the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment in writing of their proposals "at the earliest opportunity and in any event at least thirty days before the first dismissal takes effect". A copy of this notification must also be supplied as soon as possible by the employer to the employees' representatives who may forward to the Minister in writing any observations they have relating to the notification.
(4) Employers may not effect collective redundancies before the expiry of the period of thirty days beginning on the date of the relevant notification to the Minister.
The 1996 order amended the 1977 Act to clarify that in a business where no trade union or staff association exists to represent the workers, an employer proposing to effect collective redundancies is obliged to consult with/inform "a person or persons chosen by the employees likely to be affected by the proposed redundancies, to represent them".
There are penalties prescribed for failure to comply with the above provisions. The prosecution of offences is considered where breaches of the Act come to attention. On conviction by the courts, the maximum fine for an offence at (4) above is £3,000 and for each of the other offences, the maximum fine is £500. The updating of these fines is at present under consideration.
Apart from the above, other measures are taken by my Department to ensure that employers and employees are aware of their obligations and rights under labour legislation. For example, the latest edition of the "Guide to Labour Law" provides a summary of the various Acts which is presented in simple terms for both employers and employees. More detailed explanatory leaflets on individual labour laws — including the Protection of Employment Act — are available from my Department's information unit. In addition, staff of the unit are available to provide information on the legislation and to answer inquiries from the public.