Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 June 2023
4. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment what engagement he has had with the management of a company (details supplied); if he will meet with workers and their representatives; if he will take steps to ensure the employment rights of the workers are protected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31853/23]
View answerIceland workers who are owed holiday pay in their wages have been staging sit-ins in Talbot Street and Coolock. They have been treated disgracefully by the owners. Workers should not have to stage sit-ins to get the wages they are due. Will the Minister meet the workers and their representatives? What has he done to ensure their rights are fully protected and their wages are paid? Has he instructed the company to pay the workers the wages they are owed?
I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for raising this issue with me as a follow-up to our discussion last week, which included Deputy O'Reilly. Constant engagement on this is necessary from all sides in the House.
My thoughts are with the employees of Iceland in all of their stores as well as those mentioned by the Deputy. I completely understand that this year has brought a great deal of uncertainty for the workers, their families and friends. As we previously discussed, I met representatives from Iceland prior to the food recall and appointment of the examiner. Our discussion covered many areas, from grocery prices to the temporary business energy support scheme, TBESS, and energy prices. I made clear that I and my Government colleagues absolutely expect every company operating in Ireland to comply fully with its legal and statutory obligations to its employees.
A robust suite of employment rights legislation is in place to protect employees. I emphasise that workers have statutory rights under a broad range of employment rights legislation. Where employees believe their employment rights have been breached, they have the right to refer complaints to the Workplace Relations Commission for an adjudication and possible redress. The WRC is independent in the performance of its functions.
Ireland has an existing strong legislative restructuring framework for companies. Examinership is overseen by the court and is the main corporate recovery process for companies in Ireland. The process is available to insolvent companies that have a reasonable prospect of survival. The examiner is an officer of the court and must act independently. The Government therefore cannot intervene or comment on this court-supervised process, which has commenced. The Government's key role is to ensure that a strong framework of legislative protections for employees is in place and provides a suitable mechanism for them to seek redress where appropriate. I understand from media reports that some employees may have made complaints to the WRC. Therefore, I must respect the independence of the WRC in making its determination in these cases, so I do not want to get into too much detail in that regard.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I express my full solidarity and support for the workers who are staging sit-ins in Coolock and Talbot Street, and indeed all the Iceland workers. The issue here is that low-paid workers are the backbone of companies like Iceland and they simply cannot afford not to have the wages owed to them paid in a timely manner. One worker is owed almost €1,000. Workers have bills to pay and families to feed now, so an elongated process simply will not work for them. The Taoiseach said yesterday that the law might need to be strengthened to protect workers against wage theft. Does the Minister of State agree the law needs to be strengthened in this area to protect workers? What will he do to protect workers in the here and now who are struggling and have wages due to them now that need to be paid?
As I laid out, two issues are widely in operation in the context of this discussion, namely, the examinership process as well as cases before the WRC and the ability of employees to bring further cases to the WRC. They are the two most important structures through which the company may be able to ensure it has a viable future and, equally, through which employees and their rights are protected and their wages paid in a fair and timely manner. I listened intently to the Taoiseach's comments regarding how the law might need to be strengthened, which is something we in the Department will reflect on. The Taoiseach spoke about that having previously been a Minister at this Department. I will be more than happy to work with the Deputy if he believes we can work on it to strengthen existing legislation. We absolutely need to reflect on this on foot of current events.
I thank the Minister of State for the response. The Taoiseach indicated the law may need to be strengthened in this area and the Minister of State is saying he is open to reflecting on it, which is welcome, but yet again, workers who are due wages have not been paid. This could set a precedent other companies follow. It is completely wrong that people would turn up to do their work, with a store able to sell goods and cash from the sale of those goods going out to the company, while the workers who turn up that day to ensure those transactions happen do not get their end of the bargain. We are talking about low-paid workers who do not have a cushion of savings or anything else to be able to deal with delays on this. We need more than reflection, and perhaps the law needs to be strengthened. If the Minister of State is conceding that there is a case to be looked at, I urge him to get on with that, and we will certainly work with him in that regard. Any further talks on that would be welcome.
It is important to stress we are dealing specifically with a unique case relating to one employer, albeit a large one with a presence in much of the country. Moreover, the case is going through two distinct processes, namely, examinership and the WRC, that we as legislators should not intervene in or directly comment on.
The Government is always open to reflecting on legislation that can be improved. I do not necessarily provide any concessions, but the events that are ongoing certainly provide a challenge to the Government to look at this in more depth, and that is something we will take away. We will get into the detail with officials over the summer recess, and in the meantime, if the Deputy has any thoughts on the matter, we can sit down with any Deputies, in government or in opposition, and will be more than happy to proceed in that manner.
