Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 September 2012
183. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Jobs; Enterprise and Innovation his plans to empower the Employment Appeals Tribunal and the Labour Relations Commission, in cases when companies declare themselves unable to pay wages and redundancy owed to employees, to compel the directors to attend hearings and the reason they have not met their employees terms and conditions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40401/12]
View answerThe Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) and the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) are independent statutory bodies under the aegis of my Department. As independent quasi-judicial bodies, I have no role in the day-to-day exercise of their functions.
The system of industrial relations in Ireland is essentially voluntarist in nature; the LRC cannot compel any party to a dispute to attend a hearing/meeting. The LRC does not have any jurisdiction to adjudicate on disputes in relation to redundancy payments.
The EAT is an independent body bound to act judicially and was set up to provide a speedy, fair, inexpensive and informal means for individuals to seek remedies for alleged infringement of their statutory rights. The EAT has jurisdiction to deal with and adjudicate on disputes under a number of pieces of legislation including the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 1997 and the Protection of Employees (Employers Insolvency) Acts 1984 to 1994. The Redundancy Acts provide that all eligible employees are entitled to a statutory redundancy lump sum upon being made redundant. The latter Act provides for the protection of employees’ entitlements in regard to matters relating to pay (e.g. arrears of wages, holiday pay etc.) in the event of the insolvency of their employer. The Act also provides that disputes concerning some of these entitlements may be referred to the EAT.
The EAT currently has the power to compel any person (including the director(s) of a company) to attend a hearing to give evidence and to produce any documents in his/her possession, custody or control, relating to any matter referred to the Tribunal, including complaints referred under the aforementioned legislation. A person who fails to attend a hearing in response to such a notice from the EAT or who refuses to give evidence or to produce any required documents will be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine. The EAT also has the power to take evidence on oath and may administer oaths to persons attending as witnesses. Penalties are prescribed by law for wilful and corrupt perjury by any person convicted in a Court of Law giving false evidence or wilfully or corruptly swearing anything, which is false as a hearing of the EAT.
It is entirely a matter for the Tribunal, having regard to the circumstances of any particular case, to determine whether or not to invoke its powers to compel a witness to attend a hearing in order to give evidence.
I have no plans to introduce legislation amending the existing rules concerning the compellability of witnesses to either the EAT or LRC. However, as you may be aware, I am currently undertaking a root and branch reform of the existing Workplace Relations Bodies. The Reform Programme I have commenced will deliver a two tier Workplace Relations structure by merging the activities of the LRC, the National Employment Rights Authority, the Equality Tribunal and the first instance functions of the EAT and the Labour Court into a new Body of First Instance, to be known as the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The appellate functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal will be incorporated into an expanded Labour Court. Work has commenced on the drafting of a Workplace Relations Bill to give effect to the new two-tier structure. It is intended that Adjudication Officers in the new WRC will also have the power to compel witnesses to attend hearings to give evidence.
