Vol. 493 No. 3
86 Mr. Callely asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress, if any, made in putting in place the code of practice on dispute procedures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15641/98]
Section 42 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990, makes provision for the preparation and submission to the Minister, of draft codes of practice by the Labour Relations Commission. The Minister may declare the draft code to be a code of practice for the purposes of the Act. This was done for the Code of Practice on Dispute Procedure, including Procedures in Essential Services, which was promulgated by Order, as Statutory Instrument No. 1 of 1992 on 6 January, 1992. Adoption of the code in individual employments is primarily a matter for negotiation and agreement between employers and trade unions.
The Advisory Service of the Labour Relations Commission continues to monitor observance of the code by employers and trade unions, as well as providing guidance and advice on its implementation. Indeed, the number of days lost due to industrial dispute continued to decline to 74,508 in 1997. Accordingly, I would recommend that industrial negotiating parties take account of the provisions of the code of practice, with a view to sustaining this welcome trend and as a means of improving the stability of the employment relationship.
