Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 February 2022
94. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on whether the best way to ensure that workers in the hospitality sector are properly paid is the establishment of a joint labour committee and the implementation of a sectoral employment order which could ensure workers were paid properly for the work they do. [7018/22]
View answerCollective bargaining is primarily a matter for employees and their employers. Statutory wage setting mechanisms, provided for by the Industrial Relations Acts, can also be availed of for terms exceeding statutory minimums to become binding on a given economic sector.
Both Hotel and Catering (Restaurants and Pubs) Sectors have established Joint Labour Committees (JLC) under the Industrial Relations Acts 1946. A JLC is composed of equal numbers of representatives of employers and workers in an employment sector with an independent chairman. The Committee meets to discuss and agree proposals for terms and conditions to apply to specified grades or categories of workers in the sector concerned. If agreement is reached on terms and conditions, the JLC publishes the details and invites submissions from interested parties.
Employment Regulation Orders (EROs) are drawn up by JLCs and set the minimum rates of pay and conditions of employment for workers in a specified business sector. To become an Employment Regulation Order (ERO), the proposals drawn up by the JLC must be adopted by the Labour Court and an Order giving them statutory effect must be made by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. If an ERO is put in place employers are then obliged to pay wage rates and provide conditions of employment to workers that are not less favourable than those set out in the Order.
The constitution and proceedings of JLCs is set out in the Fifth Schedule to the Industrial Relations Act 1990. The Minister with responsibility for JLC’s has no function in the determination of the terms of Employment Regulation Orders which under legislation is a matter solely for the relevant JLC and the Labour Court. The role of the Minister, provided that s/he is satisfied that the Labour Court has followed due process, is to approve an Order giving effect to any recommendation.
A Sectoral Employment Order is regulated by Chapter 3 of Part 2 of the Industrial Relations Act 2015. An application for an examination for a SEO can be submitted to the Labour Court by employee or employer representatives, provided that they meet the statutory tests.
