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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 15 Apr 2015

Vol. 874 No. 1

Fair Pay, Secure Jobs and Trade Union Recognition: Motion [Private Members]

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

acknowledges the establishment of the Low Pay Commission and the Government’s decision to fund research by the University of Limerick into the prevalence and impact of zero-hour and low-hour contracts across both the private and public sectors; and to assess if vulnerable workers have sufficient protection under the law;

notes that:

— Ireland has a significant low pay problem with almost 12% of workers being at risk of poverty;

— according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Employment Outlook Report for 2014 Ireland has the second highest percentage of low-paying jobs in the OECD, following the United States which has the highest;

— the Dunnes Stores dispute brings to the fore the inadequacy of existing legislation to protect vulnerable workers;

— currently such workers have no guarantee of hours of work; and that an employee may be scheduled for work but is likely to be sent home;

— such employees are extremely vulnerable to having their working hours reduced;

— the operation of split shifts whereby the employee’s hours of work are broken up across a day or week (for example working 20 hours a week spread across six days, or working 4 hours a day broken into two 2 hour shifts) makes it extremely difficult to make plans, such as provision of child care or school pick-ups, while also making it difficult to complete household budgets because there is no consistency of weekly income;

— the practice of spreading a short number of hours a week across six days makes it impossible for workers to claim social welfare to boost their low income; and

— employees often receive very short notice of their working hours schedule;

further notes:

— existing legal safeguards are inadequate, including section 18 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, which requires that where an employee on a zero-hours contract has received no hours then they should be compensated either for 25% of the possible available hours or for 15 hours, whichever is less; and

— the newly established Low Pay Commission is extremely narrow in focus investigating the minimum wage only;

calls on the Government to introduce legislation to:

— provide a clear legal entitlement to workers to full-time work;

— allow workers request banded hours and place a corresponding obligation on the employer to consider the request and permit refusal only in exceptional circumstances which can be objectively justified;

— require employers to provide information to employees on the overall availability of working hours available in the employment;

— provide an immediate ban on all zero-hour contracts;

— task the Central Statistics Office to record the incidence of low-hour contracts as part of the Quarterly National Household Survey;

— amend the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, to ensure workers are entitled to be compensated for 100% where they have been called into work;

— improve the compensatory elements of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 to protect employees from penalisation in the form of being ‘zeroed down’;

— provide a statutory entitlement to overtime for hours worked in excess of those stated in the contract or over 38 hours whichever was the lesser;

— immediately implement in full the EU Directive on Part-time work; and

— broaden the remit of the Low Pay Commission to deal with specific sectors where low pay is particularly prevalent such as amongst women, younger workers and migrants and to deal with other contributing factors to poverty amongst those employed such as regressive taxation and inadequate public services and State supports; and

further calls on the Government to set a date for the introduction of Collective Bargaining legislation before the summer recess which statutorily compels employers to engage with trade unions; provides for trade union recognition; and has robust anti-victimisation clauses to protect workers from intimidation.

The 31st Dáil will be remembered as one of the most divisive in the history of the State. As we approach the end days of this Government, it is clear its legacy is one of inequality in a two-tiered country, in a country where the gap between those who have and those who have not is increasing. Low-paid insecure work is now entrenched in the labour force. Some 20% of workers are in casual or part-time work. Ireland has one of the highest rates of low-paid workers in the OECD and the rate of under employment here is one of the highest in the European Union. Almost 12% of those in work are at risk of poverty. Half of workers in the State earn less than €25,000 and 30% of all workers earn less than €20,000. Every day, some 135,000 children face material deprivation. This has not happened by accident, but is a clear output of the policies pursued by the Government. Economic inequality is not an unavoidable consequence of recession. Fine Gael and the Labour Party clearly chose to cut taxes for higher income earners while creating flat taxes for those on low incomes and allowing insecure work practices and low pay to proliferate.

Some people listening to this debate may feel this is business as usual and that this is part of the old debate between the right and the left. They are dangerously mistaken in that belief. What we are witnessing is a deadly acceleration of inequality over the past decade. This can be seen in international statistics. According to Oxfam, the richest 85 people on the planet own the equivalent wealth of the poorest 3.5 billion people. In this State, the trend is severe. Here, the richest 5% own the equivalent of half of the rest of us in the State. This has not happened by accident. It has happened at a time when the ESRI has stated that Fine Gael budgets have been regressive. In other words, the Government has redistributed wealth from the poor to the rich.

The Sinn Féin motion we are putting forward seeks to reverse the development of this damaging regime of low paid and insecure work. The Low Pay Commission, as currently constituted, is deficient. It is one dimensional and seeks to tackle the minimum wage only. As currently constituted, it will do nothing for most of the 12% of workers in danger of poverty. It seeks to replicate the British model, which by Britain's admission is in need of serious change. Our motion seeks to broaden the remit of the Low Pay Commission to deal with the specific sectors where low pay is particularly prevalent, such as among women, younger workers and migrants. We seek to broaden its terms to deal with conditions of employment, public services, taxation and State supports. In other words, we want a low pay commission that deals with low pay and its effect - poverty among those in work.

Zero-hour contracts are a cancer that is eating away at job security. They are a catalyst for poverty in work. They are anti-family and prevent mothers and fathers from earning enough to raise their families and from organising their lives, from child care to mortgages. Yet, zero-hour contracts are stark omissions from the terms of reference of the Low Pay Commission. The eradication of these contracts should be a core political goal for the Labour Party. Shockingly, however, a decision on these contracts has been delayed and politically neutered by a third party report. This motion seeks to provide an immediate end to all zero-hour contracts. It is clear that Fine Gael is laying down the law on this issue. While this strategic stalling is being undertaken, the Minister should at the least request the CSO to record the incidence of zero and low hour contracts as part of the Quarterly National Household Survey, thus providing the Government with real time information.

It is necessary to ensure there is no competitive advantage at the heart of these low hour contracts. That is happening. Some unscrupulous employers see low-hour and zero-hour contracts as competitive advantages in fighting against other businesses. We need to remove that competitive advantage from the system. Therefore, our motion seeks to amend the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 to ensure workers are compensated 100% where they have been called into work. Unfair work practices could also be made uncompetitive by providing a statutory entitlement to overtime for hours worked in excess of those stated in the contract or over 38 hours, whichever is the lesser. In other words, if a member of staff is asked to report for five hours but does not get five hours, he or she should be paid and compensated for the five hours. Also, where a person is required to work over seven hours, he or she should be paid overtime for the hours worked over the initial contracted amount. This practice would quickly ensure unscrupulous employers focus on ensuring people have proper contracts that will not be manipulated.

A recent Mandate survey of members who work for Dunnes Stores found that 85% of members felt that insecurity around hours and rostering was used as a method of control over workers, while 88% felt that hours were distributed unfairly. This came into to sharp focus during the recent one-day strike. To prevent this in future, we need to improve the compensatory elements of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 to protect employees from penalisation in the form of being "zeroed down".

Our motion provides the Government with an immediate mandate from the Dáil to ensure that a worker has guaranteed hours of work and that a worker who is scheduled for work will not be sent home. This Sinn Féin motion seeks to place an obligation on the employer to consider a request for banded hours and limits refusals to exceptional circumstances which can be objectively justified. Our motion seeks to require employers to provide information to employees on the overall availability of working hours. This is logic, not rocket science. It is simply about decency in the workplace.

Our motion also seeks to rebalance the relationship between employer and employee by setting a date for the introduction of collective bargaining legislation - before the summer recess - which will statutorily compel employers to engage with trade unions, provide for trade union recognition and include robust anti-victimisation clauses to protect workers from intimidation. Workers such as those in Dunnes Stores deserve more than tea and sympathy and crocodile tears. They deserve real legislative change now that will eradicate exploitation and pay workers a decent wage for a decent day's work.

No doubt what we will hear from Fine Gael is the mantra that we need to have a competitive economy. Why is it that the only place that Fine Gael looks for competitiveness is in the pay and conditions of low-paid workers? The costly sheltered sectors, such as the legal profession, or the upward only rents of Fine Gael's landlord friends are taboo when it comes to legislation. The truth is, decent employers know that productivity, staff retention, improved service and an enhanced reputation are the outputs of fair pay and conditions. The Labour Party will tell us that this is in hand, but deficient watered down promises yet to happen at the back end of this Administration is not good enough, given the crisis facing thousands of families right now.

My colleague, Phil Flanagan, MLA, is our employment spokesperson in the Six Counties Assembly. He has raised similar issues and concerns at meetings in the North. He has articulated the party's strong opposition to zero-hour contracts in the North. He is facing similar resistance with regard to ending exploitative work practices. The Minister may rest assured that neither he nor Assembly Minister Farry will have a minute's rest until workers get a fair wage for a day's work. We urge the Government to take this opportunity with both hands.

They speak with a forked tongue.

One speaker at a time, please.

The Government has one year left and the Minister may not get another chance to fix this. If I were in his position and I had possibly 12 months left in an Administration and possibly without another opportunity to make real significant change, I would ensure that my work output was not deficient, watered down policies.

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate and I note that the relevant two Ministers are present. Two weeks ago the Dunnes Stores workers were forced to go on strike after numerous efforts by them over time to secure some recognition. I met with representatives of the workers from both premises in Port Laoise, at Mountmellick road and the Kyle centre and the people working in Rathdowney Dunnes Stores. The impression I got from those workers was one of insecurity associated with not having proper contracts and not knowing from week to week or from day to day how many hours or on what days they would be working. Today we met with Bord na Móna workers from the midlands. Bord na Móna is a semi-State company which is trying to sideline and steamroll over collective bargaining and union recognition. I am a former employee of Bord na Móna and it is sad to see this happening. We thought these rights were well established but the company is trying to impose individual contracts across the company. I flag this issue for the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy Nash. Bord na Móna workers in the midlands are very concerned about this situation.

While some commentators maintain that some workers want such conditions I doubt if this applies to anyone other than students and people who want part-time, temporary, haphazard hours. I have no problem with that because there has always been an element of part-time and seasonal work to cater for different businesses in the tourism sector, for example, and in the retail sector during the Christmas period. Traditionally, this practice has not interfered with the conditions of work of permanent full-time staff.

Workers like and need to know from one week to the next what hours they are expected to work and what pay they will receive. For those in full-time employment and who are depending solely on the wages from a business which enforces zero or low-hour contracts, the uncertainty of such contracts makes it very difficult to plan from day to day, never mind from week to week.

Dunnes Stores workers in County Laois could not reliably organise child care or the collection of children from school. I remind the Ministers that, most of all, it means that these worker do not know how much they will earn from one week to the next and this causes huge pressure when it comes to paying rent and mortgages and budgeting for daily household expenses. The Minister, Deputy Bruton has talked about full employment but these contracts create huge problems for workers on low or zero-hour contracts who wish to obtain other employments. I had to juggle two part-time jobs at one time. It was worthwhile because I had to do it. Many people I talk to in places like Dunnes Stores want to have a second job but they cannot do so because their 15 or 16 hours are spread across a number of days and other employers are doing the same thing. It makes it impossible for those workers to be able to access other part-time employment. It is the case in the retail sector that this issue creates an atmosphere in a workplace or a premises which imposes such conditions. There is an issue of morale and workers have a well-founded suspicion that those workers who do not complain are given so-called favourable treatment by management. That is very unprofessional.

I do not wish to pick on Dunnes Stores or Bord na Móna in particular but they are currently in sharp focus. I have shopped in Dunnes Stores every Saturday for God knows how many years. The morale issue is not going to bring customers in the door. I shop there every week but in the 1980s I stopped shopping there during the period of the dispute over South African produce. I like going into Dunnes Stores but if it does not begin to treat its workers properly I will boycott it again and I will encourage others to do the same. I hope it sees sense.

It has been reported that those workers who took part in the strike have been subjected to intimidation and that there were attempts to get rid of people who went on strike. I have heard first hand from workers that very subtle tactics are being used by management. This is why it is necessary to legislate to prevent such practices. It is noticeable that the strikers were supported by every group in the Dáil which shows that this is not an ideological issue; it is an issue of fairness, of courtesy and of justice. It is about being fair to these workers. I hope the Government will follow through. I call on the Minister to bring in legislation with no loopholes nor wriggle room to ensure that employers must recognise trade unions and the right of workers to collective bargaining. I call on them to fully implement the EU part-time work directive.

If two words could be used to describe the intention underlying this Sinn Féin Private Members' motion, they would be "fairness" and "decency". Low-paid precarious work is one of the worst enemies that a worker can face. Workers are at their most vulnerable when they have to live from week to week, not knowing what kind of hours he or she will be given, or how much he or she will receive in the next pay package. Without access to secure working conditions many workers are faced with the possibility of not being able to pay their mortgage or rent, their household bills, or pay for their children's schoolbooks.

Sinn Féin believes that it is the role of Government to take action to make the lives of workers in this situation better. The growth of precarious work is a product of the tension and competition between on the one hand, demands from employers for more flexibility and on the other hand, calls for greater security and protection for workers. The Government needs to tackle the issue of low pay, not just for the benefit of workers but also for the benefit of society as a whole. Money into the pockets of the lowest paid will quickly find its way back into the local economy. This will be money that will be spent in our local shops, helping to employ others. Low pay also places a burden on the State in terms of family income supplement and other measures used to offset the crippling effects of low pay.

Low pay and precarious hours often affect young people the most. As they are new to the working environment, they do not enjoy many of the benefits that the older generation fought for and won. This often amounts to the exploitation of young people as the economic situation means that they have very little choice but to take whatever work is offered to them. Last night the visa application process for Canada was opened and within 12 minutes all 3,850 visas available were gone. That indicates the level of demand from young people to go to countries where wages are higher and opportunities more plentiful and where there is decency and fairness. Do these young people and their families see the economic improvements being trumpeted by the Government? They most assuredly do not.

Ireland is a high-cost and low-pay society. When the purchasing power of Irish workers is accounted for, Ireland falls 13% below the EU15 average.

Nearly 350,000, or 19.2% of the workforce, suffer multiple deprivations.

Ireland is one of only two EU countries that do not recognise collective bargaining. Since the foundation of the State, successive governments have failed to introduce statutory collective bargaining. That ensures that organised labour, especially in the low-paid sector, do not have adequate means to push for better pay and conditions. It is shocking that at a time when the Labour Party is in government, a party that claims its heritage from the likes of James Connolly, no legislation has been introduced on collective bargaining.

Commentators argue that there must be a balance between the needs of workers and those of employers, but workers should be entitled to the basic knowledge of how many hours work they will get and how much they will be paid. Currently, the power lies completely in the hands of the employer, who is able to force workers to accept the conditions they set out. Dunnes Stores has been a perfect example of that. It let go workers who took part in recent strike action. That is a disgraceful state of affairs which cannot be allowed to continue. We cannot stand back while employers punish already punished workers because they had the temerity to take a stand and to rally for their rights. That is disgraceful and should not be permitted. The Government should intervene in the matter.

I made the point to the Taoiseach earlier today that there are different ways to govern. One way is to build a citizen-centred, rights-based society with equality, a right to public services and meaningful jobs with decent pay, terms and conditions. The other is where it is everyone for themselves, where there is little sense of social solidarity, an absence of legislative rights for citizens and little or no social protections. That is a vision to which Sinn Féin is totally opposed and which Fine Gael and, shamefully, now the Labour Party, embrace. That is the vision that has manifested itself, despite protestations from Ministers, due to the neo-liberal policies of the Government and its friends in the EU elite.

Low pay and so-called labour market flexibility are key elements in the vision. Such a vision seeks to reverse the progress made over many decades in making life better for ordinary citizens. It seeks to stop parliaments or governments from acting first and foremost in the best interests of people. It attacks solidarity between citizens. If this vision had dominated in the past, we would not have seen the abolition of child labour, which used to be the norm. We would not have universal suffrage, as it used to be the norm that women did not have the vote. We would not have seen the introduction of the eight-hour working day, pensions for the elderly, the creation of the welfare state or the building of public health and education systems. It is a dark and selfish vision of society and it is one which Sinn Féin rejects. We believe we need to take our economy and society in a better, more enlightened direction where the economy serves the citizens as opposed to the people serving the economy. That is not to say we do not support business, because we do. Nor is it to say that we are not in favour of people being wealthy because that is fair enough, but we must have equality at the heart of it. Time out of number during the Government's term of office, Sinn Féin has argued with it about the social consequences of the measures being introduced. We have asked whether the measures have been equality proofed. The Government has ignored our protestations.

After four years in office, and despite a programme for Government commitment, the Government has failed to legislate for collective bargaining. It has also failed to introduce anti-victimisation legislation to protect vulnerable workers. We have seen the inevitable outcome of that in the treatment of vulnerable, low-paid workers at Dunnes Stores and elsewhere. Yet, there are still no sanctions to compel employers to engage with trade unions. We have a very significant low-pay problem with almost 12% of workers being at risk of poverty. Casual, insecure work in now entrenched in the labour force. The prevalence of low-paid work and zero-hour contracts is undermining the chances of a fair recovery. If the recovery is not fair then there is no recovery; it is just a case of recycling the old business of the people at the top getting wealthier and the people in the middle and at the bottom staying where they are. We need a recovery that leaves no family and no citizen behind.

The current situation amounts to bad economics for the State and society because it imposes an additional expenditure burden on the State and impacts negatively on tax revenue. The delay in completing the Government’s report on zero-hour contracts shows the lack of importance the Government attaches to the issue. That is the reason many ask what is the point of the Labour Party in government. If the Labour Party cannot defend the most  fundamental of workers’ rights, what is the party doing in government? Sinn Féin’s Bill seeks to introduce an immediate ban on zero-hour contracts and to allows workers to have some sense of security. It demands the Government sets a date for the introduction of collective bargaining legislation before the summer recess, provides for trade union recognition and compels employers to engage with trade unions. In addition, the Bill has robust anti-victimisation clauses to protect workers. Fundamentally, the Bill is about common decency and fairness for Irish workers.

Irish families have been forced by the Minister and his predecessors in the previous Government to pay huge costs during their recession and austerity programme through increased bills, new taxes, charges and cuts to services. In addition, the Government has encouraged employers to become engaged in a race to the bottom, to devalue work, introduce lower wages and undermine the economy. As a consequence of the Government's actions, the country has become the second lowest paying in the European Union. That is some legacy for the Labour Party, whose members are not present. Given the background and political ideology of the Minister, Deputy Bruton, he is probably proud of that achievement because that is the agenda Fine Gael has always had.

In trying to hide the legacy, the Minister and his colleagues refer to the live register but the Government has tried to hide the real story behind it, namely, the huge emigration numbers, the creation of precarious part-time and temporary jobs, and the increased reliance on job activation schemes such as the disgraced JobBridge internship scheme. The live register figures have been massaged. Significant numbers have returned to education, which is to be welcomed, but that also affects the overall figures. All of that has led to a decline in employment and real wages and an increase in reliance on the State for social welfare transfers. In Dunnes Stores for instance, 80% of the workforce are on contracts of 15 hours or fewer. That means most if not all of those workers can rely on a State payment to help them, if they are lucky enough that their hours are spread over one or two days. If they are not so lucky their hours might be spread over four or five days, in which case they would not be allowed to access social welfare payments.

The social welfare payments to Dunnes Stores workers and other workers on this type of contract amount in a way to a substantial subsidy for those companies which use zero-hour contracts. Millions of euro are spent on family income supplement or part-time dole payments because these companies will not create real jobs with real terms and conditions and real hours.

Let us not forget that the company many have spoken about tonight, Dunnes Stores, has made over €300 million profit in the past year. This State is in some ways helping to subsidise those profits without benefiting from the hours and contracts its workers demand and that the Government should demand of all employers. This is in line with the ethos of this Government which, like the last Government, cut the dole for young people and changed the number of days out of work before claiming the dole. It has also targeted lone parents, many of whom were able to avail of a subsidy through the one-parent family payment and work a few hours. It has done this in every budget since the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, has taken her role more seriously than any Fine Gael Minister ever would in targeting the poorest in our society, those who depend on social welfare. The Government has also made it more expensive to be a trade union member because it removed the tax relief on union subscriptions. The Minister present here, who is a member of Fine Gael, is probably proud of this.

Low pay is not just an issue for the under paid, it is one for society because the bigger the difference between the lowest and the highest paid in society the worse the societal well-being. Many studies, in particular those of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, have shown that health, education, housing, workers’ rights and equality all suffer in those countries where inequality is highest. That is happening in Ireland today. In other words, low pay limits people’s ability to participate fully in society and seriously damages their and their children’s life choices. Providing properly paid, decent work is good for society, for workers and the economy. A strong and constructive relationship between trade unions and employers is an essential foundation for ensuring that work pays. The intimidation of shop stewards and shop floor representatives in Dunnes Stores is such that many of them do not want to be identified for fear of losing their job, having their hours cut or suffering some sort of retribution. Dunnes Stores cannot be allowed to become the William Martin Murphy of this century. All the companies exploiting workers in this State need to be tackled head on. I call on the Government to withdraw its counter motion and read our motion once again and adopt it.

It is disgraceful that unscrupulous employers are squeezing the last ounce of profit from workers as they have done in recent years and for many decades and centuries. That is why legislation for workers’ rights has been included in the legislative programme for many years. They need to be protected, not undermined as has happened in recent years. The continuous driving down of wages and conditions needs to stop.

Like many others in this House, across party lines, I visited various Dunnes Stores shops during the strike two weeks ago, in my own area, the Ashleaf Centre and the Crumlin Shopping Centre, and several within the city centre. I congratulate the workers who came out on strike despite the threats and intimidation from the company. These are ordinary decent workers who are only looking for a fair wage and a contract which would give them stability for a week’s work. The insecurity of their contracts leads to insecurity in their lives. They cannot access loans because they do not know from week to week what their income will be. The Minister should think about trying to plan his life and that of his children based on insecure hours or zero-hours contracts. It cannot be done. That is one of the main problems that needs to be addressed. This affects not just the workers but their children and their futures.

I appeal to the Minister to use the legislation, introduce it and ensure that workers are protected, especially the low paid. He needs to set the standard according to the most vulnerable in society. Workers’ rights are rights for all. We are all workers in many ways. Our proposal is reasonable and is in line with every other proposal to come out of a recession created by an elite to build a fair society in the future. If the Minister cannot do that the Government should go to the people, hold a general election and put its proposals on zero hours, the low paid, JobBridge and every factor I have listed which has undermined pay and conditions, and society, to the public. I guarantee that it will hear loud and clear where the public stands on these matters.

Even if the most progressive Government with money at its disposal were to take power tomorrow, it would find itself challenged to undo the damage this Government and the one before it have done to the people, particularly in rural areas, of this country. There is a lot of spin these days from Government about so-called recovery, the spin doctors have been in overdrive in the past few weeks. I wonder are those who employ the spin doctors absolutely detached from reality. The reality is that in many parts of the country, particularly in coastal communities, there is no recovery and no sign of one.

Around the housing estates of rural Ireland, people are listening to that but they laugh cynically when they hear it, because they are seeing none of it. There is a lot of talk of job creation, but many of the new jobs cannot even keep one person out of the claws of poverty, never mind keep a family warm, fed and educated. The working poor have grown and multiplied, as this Government has co-operated in using the economic crisis as a pretext for employers to undo the constructive work of the trade union movement over decades to improve the lot of working people, to introduce proper wages and conditions, to work within the principles of free collective bargaining, to protect workers against the uncontrolled ebb and flow of a globalised economic system.

The race to the bottom in wage rates, zero-hour contracts and the implementation of a "you're lucky to have a job" mentality, which suggests that workers have no right to expect decent wages and conditions, was demonstrated clearly by the recent Dunnes Stores strike and subsequent treatment of the workers by their employer.

The number of young people in the State without a job is a real worry. Is it any wonder, therefore, that young people are still taking the boat and aeroplane to Australia and Canada, with 15,400 fewer young people in employment since the Labour Party and Fine Gael entered government in 2011? What is even more depressing, especially in rural areas, is that this State has the highest number of young people from working class backgrounds who are not only out of work but also not even in training or education. They are isolated at home, often without even a bus to take them to the nearest town. For rural communities, the effect on the younger generation is serious. They see small businesses in their communities closing down and transport services being cut, as well as post offices and Garda stations closing. The possibility of working locally has been reduced, while the few jobs that might be available are for minimum wages and often there is no guarantee of a proper week's work. Is it any wonder that young people are moving away? Figures show that for every job created under the Government, five people have emigrated. The number of long-term unemployed has risen from a figure of 30% in the first quarter of 2007 to 60% in 2014. I will repeat that shocking figure because the Minister may have thought he misunderstood me. The number of long-term unemployed in the State has risen from a figure of 30% in the first quarter of 2007 to 60% in 2014.

I welcome the motion and hope all Members will find it in their gift to vote for it, particularly those who like to call themselves supporters of the working class, the poor and the marginalised, as the Labour Party once stated it was. The motion is an attempt to afford basic rights to workers. It is a sad reflection on how far we have come since the 1913 Lock-out that we are bringing forward proposals to ban zero-hour contracts in 2015, to provide for the payment of overtime and the implementation of the EU directive on part-time work. I ask Deputies to support the motion and thus defend low-paid workers and those on zero-hour contracts who are dependent on all of us to come to their aid.

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:

“acknowledges that in steering the country through and out of the economic crisis the Government has focused on protecting the most vulnerable workers, pursued an agenda of maintaining and improving employment rights and reforming and enhancing both the industrial relations institutions of the State and the industrial relations legislative framework utilised by workers and employers, and in this regard:

— recognises the legislative changes introduced by the Government to protect workers’ rights, especially the most vulnerable workers in society, and in particular;

— to restore the cut in the national minimum wage, thereby reaffirming that a statutory minimum wage is a statement of core values, providing a threshold of decency under which society agrees that workers’ wages should not fall;

— through the enactment of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012, to reinstate the joint labour committee system to support wage setting in sectors where workers are poorly organised and vulnerable, and wages tend to be low; and

— to enact legislation (the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act 2012) to protect temporary agency workers through a legal framework in which agency workers are afforded equal treatment in respect of their basic working and employment conditions;

— further recognises the Government’s commitment to pursue an extensive industrial relations and employment rights reform agenda and in this respect notes the progress made, including the following in particular:

Low Pay Commission:

— the establishment of the Low Pay Commission earlier this year as an independent body that, taking specified economic and social matters into account, will make annual recommendations to the Government on the national minimum wage and related matters;

— that establishment of the Low Pay Commission on an interim basis, in advance of legislation to establish the commission on a statutory basis, allows it to proceed urgently with its first review of the national minimum wage;

— the legislation to be published shortly, with a view to enactment before the summer, will provide that, alongside examining the national minimum wage, the Low Pay Commission will also be tasked with examining matters related generally to the functions of the commission under the Act - a work programme will be agreed by the Government and presented to the commission each year;

Registered Employment Agreements:

— following on from the Supreme Court judgment in the McGowan case, the Government has approved the drafting of legislation to provide a revised legislative framework to replace registered employment agreements, REAs;

— the legislation will provide for the reintroduction of a mechanism for the registration of employment agreements between an employer or employers and trade unions governing terms and conditions in individual enterprises and also provide for a new statutory framework for establishing minimum rates of remuneration and pensions for a specified type, class or group of employee as a replacement for the former sectoral REA system;

— this legislation has completed pre-legislative scrutiny and is due to be published shortly;

Collective Bargaining:

— the Government has approved the drafting of legislation to reform the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001 to provide for an improved and modernised industrial relations framework that will provide more clarity for employers and ensure that where an employer chooses not to engage in collective bargaining either with a trade union or an internal ‘excepted body’ the 2001 Act will be remediated to ensure there is an effective means for a union, on behalf of members in that employment, to have disputed remuneration, terms and conditions assessed against relevant comparators and determined by the Labour Court, if necessary;

— the legislation will contain strong anti-victimisation provisions to protect workers who may feel that they are being victimised for exercising their rights under the legislation, including the introduction of interim relief against unfair dismissal;

— this legislation is due to be published shortly;

Study of Zero Hour Contracts and Low-Hours Contracts:

— the University of Limerick has been appointed and has commenced its work on a study into the prevalence of zero hour contracts and low hour contracts in the Irish economy and their impact on employees;

— the study will have a broad scope covering both the public and private sectors with a particular focus on the retail, hospitality, health and education sectors;

— the study will assess current employment rights legislation as it applies to employees on such contracts;

— one of the key objectives of the study is to fill the gap in knowledge currently available about the use of such contracts and their impact on employees and to enable the Government to consider any evidence-based policy recommendations deemed necessary on foot of the study;

Workplace Relations Reform:

— the Workplace Relations Bill 2014 which is expected to complete its passage through the Oireachtas in May will deliver a significantly streamlined workplace relations service which is fit for purpose, simple to use, independent, effective, impartial and cost-effective; it will provide for more workable and efficient means of redress and enforcement within a reasonable period for all users of the service;

Organisation of Working Time Act 1997:

— the Government has brought forward, in the Workplace Relations Bill 2014, amendment of the organisation of working time legislation to provide for the accrual of annual leave while absent from work on sick leave, which strikes the right balance between protecting the rights of vulnerable workers who are off work due to illness and the impact on business; and

notes:

— that since the launch of the first action plan for jobs in 2012, 90,000 net new jobs have been created, of which 86% were full-time jobs rather than casual or temporary jobs;

— that unemployment has fallen from 15.1% in January 2012 and will achieve single digit levels in 2015;

— that average hourly earnings continue to increase ahead of inflation; and

— the achievement of accelerating economic growth to 4.8% of GDP in 2014 provides the basis to continue to enhance the well-being of all in our society, particularly the less well off.

I wish to share time with the Minister of State, Deputy Gerald Nash.

It is depressing listening to Sinn Féin trying to feed the world of self-delusion and misery it portrays all the time. It continually pretends that there is no improvement occurring in the economy. I remember listening to it when we were starting out on this difficult journey to rebuild the economy. Its Deputies were saying there were no jobs available. Then they shifted to saying they were all scheme or part-time jobs. They then shifted again to saying they were all zero-hour jobs. None of this is true, however. Not a shred of the image Sinn Féin seeks to portray of what is happening in the country is true.

The Minister is now deluding himself.

We have seen the reality, yet Sinn Féin repeatedly peddles myths. The truth is that the number of people unemployed has come down from 300,000 to 200,000. There are 100,000 fewer people unemployed. The number at work has gone up by 90,000. All of these jobs are full time and none is part time. If Deputies look at the CSO figures, they will see that for the past two years the increase in employment is 90,000 and they are all full-time jobs. If Deputies bother to look at the figures, they will also see that over half the additional jobs are in Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland companies which are paying 30% above the average wage. A large part of the recovery we are enjoying is in really strong sectors that are providing high-quality employment.

Is the OECD wrong?

None of the extra jobs is attributable to schemes. There are no extra people on schemes than there were two years ago; therefore, none of the additional jobs is on a scheme. I have a lot of respect for Deputy Peadar Tóibín, but I wonder who wrote his script today. I have heard him express concern for those at risk of poverty. The truth is, however - I am quoting from the European Anti-Poverty Network - that the risk of being in poverty in Ireland is at a figure of 5% for those at work and it is falling. By contrast, the risk for people who are unemployed is seven and a half times that figure, at 37%.

They are in poverty if unemployed.

We have taken 100,000 people out of an extremely precarious situation where they are at high risk of poverty and have brought them into employment. That is the journey.

Deputy Gerry Adams who is no longer present in the Chamber asked about the social consequences of the policies we were pursuing. The social consequences are quite clear - they are removing people from the risk of being in poverty. They are rebuilding families, putting lives back on track, putting money back into communities and resources back into the Exchequer such that this year, long before expected, we are able to put money back into services.

I listened as crocodile tears were shed by Sinn Féin Deputies for people who had been dislodged from work. Every time we brought forward a scheme designed to provide a pathway back to work, whether it be JobBridge, Momentum, Springboard, new apprenticeships or JobsPlus, Sinn Féin was the first party to oppose it. It does not support these opportunities that are being provided for people who are out of work.

We support JobsPlus and Springboard.

The truth, to which Sinn Féin does not want to face up, is that last year over 140,000 people left the live register to take up employment.

Therefore, 40% of those on the live register left it in the course of 2014. That is the highest level we have seen since the recession. It is a sign of real progress in reaching out to people who would otherwise have been marginalised.

I listened to Deputy Martin Ferris talk about rising long-term unemployment. According to the CSO's figures, the number of long-term unemployed at the end of 2012 was 176,000, while today it is 123,000. It is down by 50,000, yet the Deputy wants to quote his own figures.

He quoted figures from 2007.

We have sought to provide practical solutions for people in difficult situations, whether unemployed or at work. We restored the minimum wage and provided legislation for temporary agency workers. In addition, we restored the JLCs after they had been struck down by the courts. We have also reformed the Workplace Relations Commission to make it easier and more swift for workers to seek redress and have their claims processed. We established the Low Pay Commission to examine the very issue Sinn Féin claimed was top of its agenda. The Minister of State, Deputy Gerald Nash, is to be congratulated because, ahead of the legislation, he has appointed the group that is already working and we will have an early report from it. He has also established a group to look at zero hour contracts, the very issue about which Sinn Féin is concerned. We will introduce legislation on collective bargaining and restore the registered employment agreements which we are debating in the case of the Dunnes Stores strike.

We on this side of the House have set out our stall. We want to deliver full employment on a sustainable basis by 2018. We have a vision for the country which is about getting everyone working who wants to have the opportunity to work. It is about allowing growth and rising living standards, while bringing emigration to an end. We will build this by growing a strong, balanced economy, with high-quality enterprise valuing employees and growing employment. Sinn Féin, however, continues to portray a Dickensian view of what employment is about. I heard Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh depict employers as trying to squeeze every last drop of blood from workers.

The truth is that we can create an economy, like the jobs we have created in the past two years, with 90,000 extra in full-time employment and high wages. They are enjoying strong living standards because we are creating a strong economy. Sinn Féin's vision does not include enterprise as part of the growth of a strong economy. It has a narrow, old-fashioned view of the world.

It is about time that Deputy Ó Snodaigh came out of this self-delusion and portrayal of an economy as a failure when any objective person looking at the progress of this Government will see we have pulled back from the precarious brink that we inherited regarding the public finances, banking and, most importantly, unemployment towards the chance for people to build a decent living standard for their families.

Is the OECD wrong?

Unemployment is coming down from 15% to below 10% now. We are getting people back to work in quality jobs and providing the legislative underpinning to make sure that decent standards and dignity apply in the workplace. That is the balanced economy. Enterprise is part of it. Sinn Féin's view of the world has no space for enterprise.

And the Minister is calling me deluded? He should take a look at himself; he is a silly billy.

There was not a single positive word out there from Sinn Féin as to how we can build an economy that will provide full employment. We have such a vision and a proven track record in delivering this pathway.

Unemployment and low wages.

We have a strong record in restoring workers' rights at a very difficult time. This is a very important time - we are at a critical moment in our history. We are at a turning point where we have established that we are a strong economy and can rebuild from the ashes of an extraordinary debacle. People have made huge sacrifices to get us to a point where we are rebuilding employment and getting lives back on track. We have the opportunity now to set out a strong vision for the future. I believe I speak for most people. Our ambition is to see that our sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters can find work here at home in quality employment at decent living standards with a strong prospect that they will continue to grow. No one can deny that we have rebuilt strong, sustainable sectors in food, tourism, manufacturing, ICT and financial services. We have rebuilt a solid economy and can look with confidence to a future of building strong living standards and opportunities for our people. We have to pursue steady and prudent policies and that is the approach we are taking. They include the sort of concerns that any ordinary workers would have, that their dignity and standards will be protected in the workplace. We have a track record in that, as well as in building strong enterprises. That is the balance we have to maintain if we are to have strong, quality employment for the future. We have to have respect for workers and the dignity and protection they are due, and we have to support enterprise with its capacity to build new opportunities.

There is no respect from Dunnes.

The Minister is as fanatical as his brother.

That is what this Government has been delivering and it has been an honour to serve in it.

I welcome the opportunity to outline the progress being made on foot of actions being taken by the Government to improve the lives of our people and to protect the most vulnerable. I am not impressed, however, by the pretence of Sinn Féin and its southern leadership that one side of this House has a record in government to protect and the other does not.

Southern leadership.

Down here, Sinn Féin is a party of protest, the workers' friend. In Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin is a party of government, with a record of its own to defend on the North's low-wage economy. Down here, Sinn Féin pretends it would storm the barricades while up North it is busy defending the battlements. As far as this part of the country is concerned, as the Minister, Deputy Bruton, has outlined, under this Government we have seen a paradigm shift in the economy. This has everything to do with employment, both more jobs and better jobs. Unemployment has dropped by one third since 2012. It is at its lowest level in six years and the ESRI believes it will fall below 9% over the next 12 months.

Of the almost 90,000 more people at work since the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs in 2012, a remarkable 86% of those jobs have been full-time rather than casual or temporary positions. A net total of 29,100 new jobs were created last year alone, again, mostly full-time. The proportion of workers on temporary contracts has now fallen back to the pre-recession level of 9.5%. This remains significantly below the EU average of 14.4%. In fact, the CSO data for March 2015 shows that the number of casual and part-time workers on the live register was down 10.5% on March 2014. These figures show the success of our twin-track approach of creating the conditions for job growth and helping people back to work.

There is much more to do. There are still too many people jobless. We are working to build on the work already done and to achieve full employment, as the Minister, Deputy Bruton said, within the next three years. Making work pay, enhancing dignity at work and reducing inequality are cornerstones of this Government's agenda. They are at the very heart of what I am seeking to do in government. Indeed, one of the first actions of this Government was to restore the minimum wage to €8.65 from €7.65, thus reversing one of the previous Government's last cuts. Our systematic approach has included several components that go to make up a comprehensive and coherent package. These include the Low Pay Commission, action to restore registered employment agreements, provisions to deal with the absence of collective bargaining and action on zero-hour and low-hour contracts.

Setting up the Low Pay Commission was one of the key commitments in the statement of Government priorities agreed last July. The commission was launched on 26 February to operate on an interim administrative basis and held its first meeting the same day. Legislation to provide for a statutory basis for the commission has been through pre-legislative scrutiny and will be published shortly. The principal function of the Low Pay Commission will be to examine annually and make recommendations on the national minimum wage, with a view to securing that the minimum wage is adjusted incrementally and progressively increased over time, without damage to enterprise or employment. Far from being limited in its focus, as this motion would have it, the Low Pay Commission will also be able to examine any matter generally related to its functions. A work programme will be agreed by the Government and presented to the commission each February. Nothing relevant will be excluded from its deliberations. I can assure the House of that. The commission will be required to make evidence-based recommendations. I hope that, as soon as I receive its first report in July, we can agree a work programme to take it up to next February. A successful Low Pay Commission will be one whose recommendations will be accepted and acted upon by successive Governments. It will be statutorily independent in its functions.

Over the past year, there has been increasing debate, nationally and internationally, about zero-hour contracts. On the one hand, some employers would say they can provide flexibility, efficiency in human resource management, more resilience in downturns and so on. On the other hand, there are obvious disadvantages for employers and they can include, as we all know, a limited integration of workers in the business, lower motivation and poorer work quality. For some workers in particular circumstances, there may be an element of flexibility in reconciling work and family life or studies and, for some, it may serve as a stepping stone into the labour market. Clearly there are negatives, which can include lower levels of job and income security, lack of benefits, lower job satisfaction and the risk that a whole cohort of workers could become trapped in a succession of short-term, low quality jobs with inadequate social protection. Such a possibility is of obvious concern to all of us in this House and is a major concern of mine.

Clearly, Ireland and the labour market have changed quite dramatically since we last legislated on this issue in 1997 in the context of the Organisation of Working Time Act. We need to map out and better understand the prevalence and impact of zero-hour contracts, and indeed low-hour contracts, in Irish employment, to better understand their impact on employees and to establish if any new policy responses are required. That is why last February I announced the appointment of a team from the University of Limerick to carry out precisely such a study into the prevalence of zero-hour and low-hour contracts and their impact on employees. This is the first such study commissioned by any Government. Its key objective is to fill the gap in terms of knowledge to provide hard data on zero-hour and low-hour contracts in our economy and to enable me, as Minister of State, to make evidence-based policy recommendations to Government.

There are plenty of opinions and recommendations out there right now, ranging from a laissez-faire attitude, a do-nothing approach to complete prohibition. I have my own preliminary assessment and my own views about what sort of package we might need. However, I will not make my case without the evidence and I will not choose what response we need without an expert analysis of the problem and expert recommendations for a solution. Having commissioned this study, it would be fatuous for me to pre-empt it, just a couple of short months before I get it. I expect to have this piece of work before the end of the summer and my aim is to have considered its findings and to have brought my recommendations to the Government before this House resumes business in the autumn.

My objective, and that of my party and this Government, is to ensure that the recovery is not built on a ruthless race to the bottom or the sacrifice of hard-won economic and social gains and indeed rights. These rights, as far as I am concerned, include basic job and income security.

If the 1997 Act has been overtaken by new employment practices and its protections are now inadequate, we will take action. Any sense that there is wholesale insecurity in jobs or a lack of protection has no place in modern Ireland. The Government has already moved on a number of fronts in relation to wage setting, including reforms to the JLC system through the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012. More recently, the Government approved the drafting of legislation to provide a revised legislative framework to replace registered employment agreements. This follows the 2013 judgment by the Supreme Court in the McGowan case, which struck down the previous regime.

The legislation has two purposes. First, it will reintroduce a mechanism for the registration of employment agreements between an employer or employers and trade unions governing terms and conditions at individual enterprise level. These agreements will not be legally binding beyond the subscribing parties. The Bill will, separately, provide a new statutory framework for establishing minimum rates of pay and other terms and conditions of employment for specified type, class or group of workers. In effect, this is a framework to replace the former sectoral REA system. In future, at the request separately or jointly of organisations substantially representative of employers and-or workers, the Labour Court can initiate a review of the pay and pension and sick pay entitlements of workers in a particular sector and, if it deems it appropriate, make a recommendation to the Minister on the matter. If the Minister is satisfied that the procedures provided for in the new legislation have been complied with by the Labour Court, he shall make an order that will be binding across the sector to which it relates and will be enforceable by the National Employment Rights Authority. Employers and workers in some sectors are anxious that this legislation progresses quickly. I expect to see it enacted by mid-year.

At the end of 2014, I obtained Cabinet approval to draft legislation for an improved framework for workers who seek to improve their terms and conditions in situations where there are no arrangements for collective bargaining. This legislation will fulfil one of the most significant commitments in the programme for Government. This measure will ensure that where there is no collective bargaining workers can, through their unions, raise claims about pay, terms and conditions and have these determined by the Labour Court and secured by way of Circuit Court order. The legislation will also ensure workers will not be victimised for doing so and will include strong protections for workers who are victimised for exercising their rights. Again, I expect this legislation to be published in this session and to be passed as soon as possible.

I am of course more than aware of the Dunnes Stores dispute. The dispute concerns a range of issues, including the introduction of banded hours contracts, individual and collective representational rights and the use of temporary contracts. The union has sought to engage with the company on these issues and the matter was referred by the union to the Labour Court under the Industrial Relations Act 1969 last October. However, the company was not represented at the Labour Court hearing. The court found it regrettable that the company declined to participate in the investigation of the dispute or to put forward its position on the union's claims. In its recommendation, the Labour Court noted, as it had done previously, that Dunnes Stores and the Mandate trade union were party to a 1996 collective agreement which provides a procedural framework within which industrial relations disputes and differences can be resolved by negotiation and dialogue. The court pointed out that the dictates of good industrial relations practice requires parties to honour their collective agreements in both spirit and intent. I agree. I have said that I regret that the company decided against attending the Labour Court hearing, contrary to good industrial relations practice.

In my view, the experience and expertise of the Labour Court offer the most appropriate and effective avenue for resolving these issues. I continue to urge both parties to avail of the services of the State's industrial relations machinery, which remain available to assist them. This offers the best way for the parties involved in this dispute to resolve their differences. Ultimately, I agree with the general secretary of Mandate in his open letter to Dunnes Stores management, when he said, "It is my belief that as with most disputes between parties, they can only be resolved via dialogue between the parties". It may well be, of course, that the passing of the legislation I referred to earlier will bring about a changed dynamic in industrial relations and cause some parties to be more flexible in their positions. The content of the legislation can be transformative in terms of employer and employee relationships in Ireland.

My focus tonight has been to set out the positive changes that have already taken place under this Government and to highlight the work in hand that has as its core objective the maintenance and improvement of the rights of workers, particularly vulnerable workers. Sinn Féin's motion focuses on the negative. I agree with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, on that front. For example, the motion refers to the OECD's economic outlook for 2014 and claims Ireland has the second highest percentage of low-paying jobs in the OECD after the United States of America. However, the motion chooses to ignore the fact that the same OECD report shows that average Irish earnings in 2013 were the sixth highest of the 34 countries compared. The same OECD report clearly indicates that "while the Irish labour market suffered a massive shock, indicators of job quality show that on average Irish jobs are of relatively good quality when compared to other countries".

Neither of those points is contradictory.

Further, the minimum wage in Ireland is relatively high by international standards. The most recent figures published by EUROSTAT show that Ireland's rate is the fifth highest among the 22 EU member states that have a minimum wage. When the cost of living is taken into account, Ireland's rate is the sixth highest. It must be remembered that in the global competition for foreign direct investment and for the highest quality talent, it is a positive and not a negative attribute that Ireland is able to attract high paying sectors and highly talented and highly paid individuals. The Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, outlined the success of Enterprise Ireland and the IDA in generating a high percentage of well-paid jobs. Many countries with much lower average earnings than Ireland would wish to replicate Ireland's success in this regard.

Sinn Féin also claims that Ireland has failed to fully transpose the EU directive on part-time work. This is not the case. The Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 and associated codes of practice have implemented the directive in Irish law. The directive builds on a framework agreement on part-time work that was concluded by the European social partners. The purpose of the framework agreement was to eliminate discrimination against part-time employees, improve the quality of part-tune work, facilitate the development of part-time work on a voluntary basis and contribute to the flexible organisation of working time in a manner which takes into account the needs of employers and employees. Both IBEC and ICTU were involved in the process of drafting the directive's framework agreement at European level through the European social partner organisations. At national level, my Department, ICTU, IBEC and other relevant Departments established a group to consider the measures necessary for implementing the Directive in Ireland. Our legislation sets out considerable protection for part-time employees, including the general requirement that a part-time employee must not be treated in a less favourable manner in respect of his or her conditions of employment than a full time employee. I assure the House that Ireland has met its responsibilities in transposing the EU Council directive on part-time work into national law.

That is not simply my or my Department's position; it is confirmed by a 2003 European Commission report on the implementation of the directive.

I do not want anyone in this House to take lectures from Sinn Féin on employment protection in general or low pay in particular. Sinn Féin poses as the workers' friend in this part of the country, but in Northern Ireland it is a party to a government with a record on these issues which we can examine and legitimately compare with our record down here. When, for example, the INTO, in resisting cuts to teaching jobs and further cuts across the education budget, claimed that the budget would be "central to maintaining a low wage economy for at least a generation", it was a Sinn Féin Minister for Education, John O'Dowd, MLA, who was in its sights. In Northern Ireland, where there are 32,000 people employed under zero-hour contracts and where working time legislation provides less protection for workers than our own 1997 Act, the Executive's proposal is to regulate these contracts, not to impose an immediate ban as Sinn Féin calls for here.

They are banned in the North.

While it is true that wages here fell 2.1% per year between 2009 and 2013, wages fell by a massive 13.4% in the same period in Northern Ireland according to the Resolution Foundation. The same independent body says that since the downturn, workers in Northern Ireland have experienced the sharpest fall in living standards of anywhere in the UK. Northern Ireland's households now have the lowest median income in the UK due to poorer job creation and maintenance and a bigger real pay squeeze. That is not the vista citizens in the Irish Republic can look forward to.

By all means let us debate the issues. I am more than happy to take on board constructive proposals from any quarter. I look forward to receiving them. Let us not pretend, however, that one side of the House has a record in government to protect and the other does not. It is not good enough for Sinn Féin to parade with a placard in its Southern hand while applying a scalpel with its Northern one. I am happy to repeat that the Government has demonstrated its commitment to maintaining and improving employment rights and to reforming both the industrial relations institutions and the industrial relations framework used by workers and employers.

Significant progress has already been made across a range of issues and there will be further progress. We continue to press ahead with our progressive programme of work to protect people in the workplace and to create decent, sustainable jobs.

I will be seeking the support of the House over the next period to ensure that the key legislative measures to which I referred earlier can be passed into law in the Republic in the months ahead.

I call Deputy Calleary who I understand is sharing time with Deputy Keaveney. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Amendment No. 2 reads:

To delete the words “provide a clear legal entitlement to workers to full time work” and substitute the following:

“provide a clear legal entitlement for workers to enable them to request extra hours.”

It was a mistake in 2011, and I said it at the time out of a certain proprietary interest, that the Government did not appoint a Minister of State for labour affairs to the Department. In fairness to the Minister of State, since he has come in, many issues on this agenda have been moved on. For the want of having someone to drive them on and someone who had an interest in the area, this would not have happened. The previous three years saw many issues sidelined or issues which were well under way during our time in government, such as the reorganisation of the various employment bodies, progressed in the way they would have been. However, many of the issues with which we are dealing in this House tonight were sidelined or ignored. That is why we are where we are and that is why we are facing a genuine challenge to the volunteerist nature of labour relations in this country.

This challenge has been crystallised in the Dunnes Stores dispute and its refusal to engage with the machinery which has been superbly successful in this country for nigh over 60 years. Dunnes Stores is refusing to engage with its workers, who have contributed to the wealth and the growth of the company over many years. It refuses to show the workers respect and it refuses to respect the agreements that are in place in the company. In light of the intransigence of Dunnes Stores, the silence of the business community and business organisations and the failure to stand up for the Dunnes Stores workers is also worrying.

It is a pity Deputy Ó Snodaigh has left, but I have no difficulty in saying that the vast majority of Irish employers are decent.

They respect their staff and see their staff as part of their workplace. However, as well as showing contempt for their workers and the industrial relations process of this country, Dunnes Stores is showing contempt for the 95% of Irish employers who are good employers and who have respect for those who work for them.

The silence of the organisations on this issue is not good. There needs to be a very clear statement, as there has been cross-party in this House, from all the social partners. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, has left, but if the notion of social partnership and social cohesion or whatever it is termed these days is to mean anything, someone needs to stand up and make a very clear statement that we do not want an employment regime in Ireland in which there is no recourse and no way to challenge a company that treats its workers with contempt and uses intimidatory tactics on its employees after they go on strike. Employers need to stand up and say that this is not how they do their business, because it is not how they do their business. There are agreements in the services sector with hotels and with companies in the same sector as Dunnes, which Mandate has managed to agree. Other companies see these agreements as a very important part of their businesses. However, this issue is a concern.

The last time we had collective bargaining legislation it was struck down by another famous company that does not do unions. I hope the Minister of State, in the course of tomorrow's wrap up, will give some sort of indication that the constitutional issues around the 2001 Act have been dealt with in advance of the new Bill.

We are moving our amendment because the commitment in Deputy Tóibín's motion is to provide a clear legal entitlement to workers to full-time work. Our experience of labour law is that this is too vague a statement. It could be abused by employers or workers who may try to destroy the flexibility of a good company or a good relationship. We are seeking to tighten up on the wording in the motion by providing for a clear legal entitlement for workers to be able to request extra hours. Apart from that, we are in general agreement with the motion.

Banded-hour contracts are a basic requirement. Ironically enough, it is not a basic requirement in this profession. Every Deputy will have sat down with people applying for a mortgage who work 35 or 39 hours a week but who cannot prove it to a bank. They cannot prove that they are getting those hours and that they have a guarantee to those hours. Deputies will have sat down to bring them through loan applications and other kinds of banking experience. These people will have sat down with their families on a Sunday evening to organise their week, but they do not know from one day to the next what hours they will be doing. They do not know the hours they will be called into work and the hours they will need child care. They do not know what hours they are available to do basic things. No one can say that that is fair, that it is a decent standard or that it comes close to dignity in the workplace.

It is quite extraordinary. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, was quite bolshie, for want of a better word, in his speech. He seemed not to hear what is going on in Dunnes Stores -----

----- and what is going on in so many other enterprises across the country. A worker who does not know at the beginning of the week how many hours he or she will be requested to work is not being afforded decent standards or dignity in the workplace. Some 6,000 people went on strike in full knowledge that they would face intimidatory reprisals from their employer. This demonstrates that there is an issue concerning standards and dignity in the workplace. It is not an appropriate response for the Minister and the Minister of State to put their heads in the sand and hope it will go away.

I encourage the Minister of State to bring forward the proposals on victimisation in the workplace. I suspect the Minister of State's proposals on collective bargaining are being frozen and challenged by some of his Fine Gael colleagues. Surely no one would object to legislation protecting the rights of workers to strike and to protect their livelihoods. If the collective bargaining legislation is going to be unduly delayed, the Minister of State should bring forward victimisation legislation separately. We could then, at least, proceed with that aspect and give security to workers who withdraw their labour. Workers have a basic right to do that and they should be able to do it without worrying about management's response when they return to the workplace.

As the Minister of State has stated, there has been a sea change in working practices across Europe and throughout the world. Some international organisations have used the downturn and the recession to drive forward a particular view of the world. Zero-hour contracts and a lack of respect for workers fits in with that view. Workers are viewed as expendable. The view is that they can be treated as equivalent to figures on a balance sheet. They cannot be and they never have been in this country. Long may that be the way. Long may we have respect for workers and long may this House, and whoever occupies this House, of whatever hue, defend the rights of Irish workers to go to work and to withdraw their labour if necessary. Long may we provide, invest in and support an architecture which allows for dispute resolution, so far as is possible, based on volunteerism and collectivism.

We cannot let Dunnes Stores get away with what is happening at the moment. Dunnes Stores is in the minority in terms of what is happening, but its size and its absolute intransigence in an Irish landscape is a worry. It believes it will get away with this. It believes that the story will move on, people will move onto the next headline and that people will come back and shop in its stores. That is its view and it is determined to dig in its heels and to see this out. It knows that, at the moment, nothing can be done to tackle this problem.

We cannot turn our back on decades of excellent volunteerist labour relations. We cannot turn our back for one company. If this one company continues to force the matter, other solutions will have to be found. We could spend another night debating the statistics to which the Minister and the Minister of State referred about low wages, the CSO and the 89,000, on the last count, who are on activation schemes and therefore not included in the live register. However, if we are to have a recovery that is built on quality jobs, respect for labour, and a country, as we come into 2016, in terms of our treatment of those who work and those who put their labour to use for the country, we need to live up to the ideas of that proclamation.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. I believe that it is an issue that is representative of the struggle taking place ideologically in government. That ideological struggle pales into insignificance relative to the one that is taking place in the economy in terms of the difficulties many people have in terms of the security of their employment, low pay and so on.

I support the motion, but not in its entirety. I ask Sinn Féin to identify with Fianna Fáil's amendment and urge that party and the Government to accept it and progress in the spirit of the motion.

Out of the recent past, a new model and a new society has been constructed by the Minister, who was sitting beside the Minister of State but has since departed the Chamber. This new model was not by accident, but by design. The Government has no mandate for what that man has done to the economy in terms of the quality of its recovery, nor does it have the House's approval. We are witnessing the creation of a US-type economy, with low wages, insecure contracts, an increasing prevalence of zero-hours contracts and the unstated principle that workers should be grateful just to have jobs. Apart from those with whom the Minister of State shares Government, we all know that the people primarily bearing the brunt of this are young and, in particular, female. They are predominantly the ones working on temporary contracts. The Government is actively promoting inequality through its inaction on the prevalence of this situation. In 2011, 16% of the labour market comprised temporary contracts. Tonight, the figure is 26%. During that reference period, child deprivation rates have increased significantly, with one in five children going to school hungry. That is the significance of this debate.

This situation may suit the employer or capital, but only in the short term. The Government parties might fool themselves in terms of the pursuit of an economy, but they must ask themselves whether, in the context of a quality society, that economic model is right for the future of the country. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, can salivate over the increasing figures for exports and certain sectors of the economy, which are doing reasonably well, but domestic demand is still on its knees. Families and individuals are insecure and are not confident about their circumstances. We will not see a drive for domestic consumption until workers believe they have security.

Inaction can no longer be a tactic for the Government. It has been a policy of this Government. Trade unions were undoubtedly brought on board from the start and attacks were made on employment numbers and conditions of employment in the public service through the carrot or stick approach of collective bargaining. Several times, Ministers and Government backbenchers boasted about what was coming, including legislation that the Minister of State, Deputy Nash, promised. Given the quality available to us, he is the best person to do that. However, "collective bargaining" is a phrase that must mean something. Its spirit must mean proper workplace democracy and engagement. Nothing more, nothing less.

Regarding zero-hours contracts and related matters, I am sure that there will be a conflict in government when the Attorney General hides behind a report and there are mutterings of a constitutional requirement. In terms of what can be done, will the Minister of State take the lead and mandate public service employers to eliminate the use of zero-hours contracts for special needs assistants, SNAs, home helps, teacher aids and so on? He can do that immediately and without having to wait for a commission on zero-hours contracts.

A former Minister, Deputy Quinn, stated on radio yesterday that there was no alternative to this Government. From the beginning of this term, the Cabinet has stated that "there is no alternative". Incidentally, that phrase was robbed from Margaret Thatcher.

Yes. The former Minister stated that there was no alternative. Deputy Quinn can boast all he wants, but he is wrong. The people do not want the model or quality of recovery that is being delivered by the Minister, who was sitting beside the Minister of State, Deputy Nash, before running out the door, salivating and somersaulting naked up Grafton Street about the quality of this recovery. The quality of this recovery is unsuitable. The people deserve a better recovery with better security.

Deputy Halligan is next. I understand he is sharing time with Deputy Finian McGrath.

In the small amount of time I have, I will concentrate on zero-hours contracts, through which an employee is reduced to a commodity and bought and used by many employers as the need arises. It is shameful and immoral. As the Minister of State knows, the employee receives no sick pay or limited holiday pay and there is no guarantee of work or pay. Research undertaken by Mandate in 2013 and 2014 found that 17% of people living below the poverty line worked in precarious jobs on zero-hours contracts.

The pathetic argument put forward by businesses is that these contracts provide flexibility, which is just another word for profiting by exploiting people. It shows the avarice of some companies that have turnovers of hundreds of millions of euro each year. That they would treat human beings with such contempt and knowingly deprive them in essence of a reasonable quality of life is shocking.

I cannot understand why, according to the Government's amendment, the University of Limerick has been appointed to commence a study on the prevalence of zero-hours contracts and their impact on employees. Does the Government not know already? Has its members not spoken to anyone who is on a zero-hours contract? Have they not met young women who do not know how their hours will be fixed at the weekend, who arrive at work on Thursday and are told that they might be working on Saturday only to turn up on Saturday to be told that there is no work for them? Does the Government not know what that is like? Has it not read Mandate's and SIPTU's papers? For the past three or four years, they have been telling people what has been happening.

I know the Minister of State knows all of this. I am not criticising him, as he must be given an opportunity to deal with this issue, but consider how quickly we bailed out the banks. We passed the Irish Water legislation after a four-hour debate. Why can we not introduce immediate legislation to address zero-hours contracts?

The appeals tribunal of the Labour Relations Commission's Rights Commissioner Service was mentioned. It means nothing to employers like Dunnes Stores. Under current legislation, such employers can decide not to pay any attention to what the commissioners say. We need definite legislation to eliminate the horrific zero-hours contracts. It could be achieved easily with a day's sitting of the Dáil.

I welcome this debate and support the motion, which is about people and respecting and protecting the rights of all workers. Above all, it is about supporting an exploited group of people who want to do a day's work for a day's pay. It is important that we get to the heart of the matter.

I pay tribute to the Dunnes Stores workers for their bravery of recent weeks. I attended the picket lines at Donaghmede and the Northside Shopping Centre in Coolock. I was impressed by the workers' determination, vision and courage. We all have a duty and responsibility to support them.

When I listen to the Minister, Deputy Bruton, I often wonder whether he is living in a different land. This is the man who, in recent weeks, had a go at public servants. Does he not realise that they have taken a salary hit in recent years? Does he not realise all of the reforms that the public service has implemented?

All of this is going on, but the Minister seems to be unaware of it.

The really sad aspect of the Minister's response is his failure to acknowledge that the so-called recovery is being built on the growing exploitation of workers. Does he know, for example, that 5,000 people are on Government activation schemes like JobBridge and Gateway? Is he aware that 25% of all workers earn less than the living wage of €11.45 per hour? If one is young and-or female in this country, one is more likely to be earning below the living wage. Ireland has the highest rate of under-employment in the European Union. Under-employment refers to a situation where workers desire more hours than they are currently being allocated. Income inequality is cause for serious concern. Even such bodies as the OECD, World Bank and IMF, as well as the Think-Tank for Action on Social Change, TASC, have all said that gross income inequality is growing and identify it as a serious impediment to future economic growth.

I urge all Deputies to support this motion. It is about seeking to deal with zero-hours contracts and low pay. Above all, however, it is about putting down a marker for the future of the citizens of this country in terms of ensuring adequate working conditions and proper wages. The actions it recommends are necessary if we are to generate a strong and sustainable economy that will lead to the creation of more jobs.

Debate adjourned.
The Dáil adjourned at 9 p.m. until 9.30 a.m. on Thursday, 16 April 2015.
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