Bríd Smith
Question:558. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he is aware of the actions of management at an organisation (details supplied). [16977/16]
View answerTuesday, 21 June 2016
Questions (558, 559, 560)
Bríd Smith
Question:559. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will intervene in the ongoing strike at an organisation (details supplied) to make clear that this Government is opposed to employers forcibly making staff redundant in the selective manner that management has tried to do here and that Government funding will not be dispensed to employers who treat their workers in this manner. [16978/16]
View answerBríd Smith
Question:560. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she aware of the actions of an organisation (details supplied). [17167/16]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 558 to 560, inclusive, together.
There is a robust suite of employment rights legislation in place providing protection for employees, including legislation governing working time and pay. This includes the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2014, the National Minimum Wage Act 2000, the Payment of Wages Act 1991, the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973 to 2001, the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001, the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 and the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act 2012.
I understand the dispute at issue relates to the proposed redundancy of a number of staff members due to restructuring of the organisation. I would like to assure the Deputy that the State’s industrial relations machinery continues to be available to assist in the resolution of this dispute and I would urge the parties to engage with them in order to resolve their differences in this instance. Even what often appears to be the most intractable of disputes is capable of resolution where both sides engage constructively and in good faith in this voluntary process. The principle of good faith implies that both sides in a dispute make every effort to reach an agreement and endeavour, through genuine and constructive negotiations, to arrive at a conclusion that is satisfactory to all concerned.
Ireland’s system of industrial relations is, essentially, voluntary in nature and responsibility for the resolution of industrial disputes between employers and workers, whether in redundancy or other collective disputes, rests with the employer, the workers and their representatives. The State provides the industrial relations dispute settlement mechanisms to support parties in their efforts to resolve their differences.