asked the Minister for Labour the number of claims by workers by category who claimed minimum notice by appeal during 1985; the number dealt with by the Employment Appeals Tribunal; the number which (a) succeeded and (b) failed; the number who succeeded and were not paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers - Employment Appeals Tribunal.
6.
The number of claims received under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973, by the Employment Appeals Tribunal during 1985 was 7,489; this number is not broken down into categories of workers. The tribunal dealt with 7,396 claims in 1985. The two figures quoted are not comparable as the cases dealt with by the tribunal in 1985 would include some received in 1984 and would not include others received in the latter part of 1985. Of the number of claims dealt with by the tribunal in 1985, 6,423 succeeded, 500 failed and 473 were withdrawn before or during the hearings.
The number of cases of non-compliance with EAT minimum notice awards notified to my Department in 1985, other than through formal claims for payment under the Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act, 1984, was 181. It is the policy of my Department, when notified of such cases, to endeavour first of all to persuade the employers concerned to make the payments, failing which the question of instituting legal proceedings is considered. Of the 181 cases already mentioned, 33 were settled by direct approach from my Department to the parties involved and six further cases after the initiation of legal action.
Legal proceedings have been initiated or are under consideration in 119 cases. Of the remaining 23 cases, the employees concerned have been advised in 14 cases to pursue the question of payment further with the representatives of their employers and in nine cases payments of the awards have been made under the Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act, 1984, or are being considered. A total of £2,524,191 was paid to employees whose employers were insolvent under the 1984 Act from the Redundancy and Employers' Insolvency Fund in respect of minimum notice awards in 1985. The sum would relate partly to employees who were dismissed because of their employers' insolvencies in 1983, on or after 22 October 1983, the operative date of the Act, and 1984 as well as in 1985.
In the 119 cases in which the courts have become involved, why is there such a long delay? Can anything be done to speed up that process? Would the Minister agree that a large number of such cases now get caught up in the legal system, defeating the purpose of the legislation?
I agree that the cases which get caught up in the legal system do frustrate the intentions of the Houses of the Oireachtas in terms of the legislation. Part of the reason for the delay in many legal cases is the failure to speedily exchange the necessary information before a definitive case can be pursued. I am not in a position in respect of the 119 cases to give a collective or detailed explanation of why delays have occurred.