In 2010, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (and IMPACT acting on behalf of their airline pilot members in Ryanair) submitted a complaint to the Committee on Freedom of Association of the International Labour Organisation that Ireland was not in conformity with the provisions of ILO Convention No. 98 — Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949.
The complaint involved allegations of anti-union discrimination and the refusal to engage in good faith collective bargaining on the part of Ryanair, as well as the failure of labour legislation to provide adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination and promote collective bargaining. The ICTU complaint arises as a result of the 2007 Supreme Court decision in the Ryanair case. The ILO Committee on Freedom of Association considered the submissions during the March session of the ILO Governing Body. The Committee's findings were
1) As the information available to the ILO Committee is insufficient to determine whether the alleged offer by Ryanair of conditional benefits to employees provided that the company would not be required to enter into a collective bargaining relationship with the union, the Committee requests the Government to ensure that the protection available against anti-union discrimination would adequately cover such acts, including through a thorough review of the protective measures with the social partners concerned.
2) The Committee requests the Government to carry out an independent inquiry without delay into the alleged acts of employer interference in order to establish the facts of this specific case and, if necessary, to take the necessary measures to ensure full respects of the principles of freedom of association.
3) Noting the commitment on collective bargaining in the Programme for Government, the Committee invites the Government, in full consultation with the social partners, to review the existing framework and consider any appropriate measures, including legislative, so as to ensure respect for the freedom of association and collective bargaining principles set out in its conclusions, including through the review of the mechanisms available with a view to promoting machinery for voluntary negotiation between employers' and workers' organisations for the determination of terms and conditions of employment.
I welcome the fact that the ILO report did not find Ireland to be in breach of its obligations under ILO Conventions in respect of collective bargaining rights. Neither did the ILO find that a resolution of the difficulties arising over the Ryanair judgement would require the introduction of a legal regime of mandatory trade union recognition.
The ILO's formal request for the Government's response to the Committees' findings was received on 25 May. The preparation of a formal response to the recommendations made to the Government is currently receiving attention. As regards the ILO recommendation concerning a review of the existing framework on collective bargaining, the ILO Committee's Report acknowledges that the Government is committed in its Programme for Government to reform the current law on employees' right to engage in collective bargaining (the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001), so as to ensure compliance by the State with recent judgements of the European Court of Human Rights.
Delivery on the Government commitment to find a solution to the difficulties that emerged as a result of the Ryanair Supreme Court judgement will require consultation with stakeholders, including employer and worker representatives, and a review of the experience of the operation of the existing legislative framework as put in place under the Industrial Relations Acts of 2001 and 2004 and the consequences of the litigation that has arisen in the course of the operation of these Acts.
