Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 February 2008
38 Deputy Arthur Morgan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on whether it is acceptable for a company (details supplied) operating all over this island and with multiple bases, to engage with union representatives for its workers in the North of Ireland but to refuse to do so for its workers in the South. [8250/08]
View answerUnder Article 40.6.1 of the Constitution, the State guarantees liberty for the exercise, subject to public order and morality, of, inter alia, "the right of citizens to form associations and unions". It has been established in a number of legal cases that the constitutional guarantee of the freedom of association does not guarantee workers the right to have their union recognised for the purpose of collective bargaining.
The system of industrial relations in Ireland is essentially voluntary in nature. In line with this voluntarist approach, a High Level Group comprising representatives from IBEC, ICTU, and various Government Departments and agencies and chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach was established under Partnership 2000 to consider proposals submitted by ICTU on the recognition of unions and the right to bargain. This Group recommended that two distinct procedures be put in place for the resolution of disputes where negotiation arrangements are not in place and collective bargaining does not exist — a voluntary procedure and a legislative fall back procedure.
These recommendations were implemented through the Industrial Relations Act 1990 (Code of Practice on Voluntary Dispute Resolution) (Declaration) Order 2000 (Statutory Instrument No. 145 of 2000) and the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001. These measures were improved by the introduction of the Industrial Relations Act 1990 (Enhanced Code of Practice on Voluntary Dispute Resolution) (Declaration) Order 2004 (S.I. No. 76 of 2004), the Industrial Relations Act 1990 (Code of Practice on Victimisation) (Declaration) Order 2004 (S.I. No. 139 of 2004) and the Industrial Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004.
