Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 10 Mar 1992

Vol. 417 No. 1

Written Answers. - Hairdressing Industry.

Michael Creed

Ceist:

47 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Labour if he has satisfied himself with the wages and conditions applicable in the hairdressing industry; if his attention has been drawn to the existence of many trainee hairdressers receiving appallingly low wages; whether he has any plans to eliminate this exploitation; if he will extend the present wage agreement to all the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Labour (Mr. Cowen)

Statutory minimum rates of pay and conditions of employment for hairdressers, including apprentice hairdressers, are applicable in the county and county borough of Dublin, the Borough of Dún Laoghaire, the urban district of Bray and the Cork county borough. These minima, set out in employment regulation orders made by the Labour Court, are negotiated and agreed by two Joint Labour Committees, representative of both trade unions and employers.

The labour inspectorate of my Department have been active in enforcing the provision of these orders both in terms of routine inspections and inspections on a complaint basis. Over the past three years it has carried out a total of almost 2,000 inspections of hairdressing premises in the areas covered by the orders and has recovered some £38,000 on behalf of employees who were being under-paid.

If it is considered that the statutory minima for hairdressers should be extended to the entire country, it is open to the ICTU or individual trade unions to apply to the Labour Court to have the scope of the existing committee extended or to have a new committee established.

One of the new provisions introduced in the Industrial Relations Act, 1990 allows the Labour Relations Commission to carry out periodic reviews with a view to ascertaining whether new Joint Labour Committees should be established or existing ones extended. This and other measures in the 1990 Act are designed to ensure that the Joint Labour Committee system functions efficiently and effectively and adequately addresses the problem of low pay where it exists.