Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 May 2021
249. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she plans to ensure that no State funding goes to employers that engage in union busting practices and anti-worker activities. [22723/21]
View answerThe right of workers to form associations and join a trade union is enshrined in Article 40 of the Irish Constitution. However, our Superior Courts have established 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.
Notwithstanding this, it has been the consistent policy of successive Irish Governments to promote collective bargaining through legislation and by the development of an institutional framework supportive of a voluntary system of industrial relations that is premised upon freedom of contract and freedom of association. There is an extensive range of statutory provisions designed to support collective bargaining within the concept of voluntarism.
