I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to impose an obligation on employers, when requested in writing by an employee, to make deductions from the wages of such employee, and, not later than 21 days, remit the amount deducted, along with the written notice of the information required under section 6, to the relevant trade union that is specified in the written request.
This Bill standardises a process common across many businesses. It provides clear information allowing for an improvement in the basic administration of a trade union and clear guidelines for employers. It closes a major loophole in our law allowing employers to engage in trade-union busting. The Bill has no provision to make an employer recognise a trade union for bargaining purposes; it simply standardises a process already common in Ireland. This process happens across the board with pension contributions where they are deducted at source and remitted into a pension fund. That process does not force employers to negotiate with pension funds. This Bill does the same.
The Bill will contribute to achieving Ireland's obligations under directive 2022/2041 of the European Parliament of 19 October 2022 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union, particularly in relation to its recognition of union-busting tactics as a factor in the decline of collective bargaining coverage. Under the directive, there is a requirement for countries with less than 80% collective bargaining to implement plans to increase coverage by November 2024, which is only eight months away. The 80% threshold is based on trends that clearly show most countries with a smaller share of low-paid workers and a high minimum wage have over 80% collective bargaining coverage. We will continue to need to implement plans until we reach 80%. Ireland has collective bargaining coverage of 33%, meaning we would need real structural changes to more than double our coverage.
The EU has passed this directive in recognition that increases in the minimum wage are no substitute for a worker's ability to negotiate his or her own pay and conditions. That means a greater ability for a worker to negotiate with his or her employer through his or her union. Ireland has among the lowest collective bargaining and trade union density in the EU. The implications of this are Ireland has among the highest prevalence of low pay and market inequality rates in the EU and has growing deprivation, at-risk-of-poverty and consistent poverty rates.
From my work with trade unionists, I know workers in many sectors, especially low-paid areas such as retail, hospitality, bars and admin, face employers who are increasingly anti-union. I know of examples in which companies have withheld subscription moneys and-or information from trade union members during or because of industrial disputes.
Mandate Trade Union has experienced that through employers withholding either subscriptions, adjustments or member information. Mandate states that these actions by multinational companies are signs that there is a co-ordinated attempt by multinational employers to frustrate and deny workers their entitlements, which are protected under the Constitution. This is a loophole that must be closed if we are serious about stopping union-busting and attacks on low-paid workers. The EU directive directly recognises the prevalence of these union-busting tactics, and ending these tactics will be central to any attempt to increase collective bargaining coverage.
The Bill standardises common practice and will contribute to Ireland's obligations under the EU directive as it strengthens trade unions’ ability to operate effectively and without facing trade union-busting tactics. It will support all workers but especially those in low-paid and precarious work by strengthening their ability to negotiate their own pay and conditions. The Bill has the support of the Financial Services Union and Mandate Trade Union, two of the major unions covering the private sector that are calling for the provisions in this Bill. I have also been advised by several unions that are on the private sector committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions that they will be supporting the Bill. Their clear support is recognition of the role it will play in strengthening the unions’ ability to close this loophole of trade union-busting.
I cannot see how the Government cannot support this Bill to go ahead when there is clear support from the trade unions for legislation to end this loophole, as well as clear obligations under the EU directive to target union-busting and strengthen trade unions in order to increase collective bargaining coverage.
