Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation, which offers extensive protections to employees. Those protections include the Protection of Employment Acts 1977-2007, which provide for a process of information and consultation between the employer and the employee representatives in circumstances where a collective redundancy is proposed, the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973 to 2005, which give employees entitlements to specified notice periods or payment in lieu of notice and the Redundancy Payments Acts which are administered by the Minister for Social Protection.
Under the Protection of Employment Acts, a collective redundancy situation exists where, during a period of 30 consecutive days, an employer proposes to make a certain proportion of the workforce redundant. These proportions are (1) at least 5 employees redundant in an establishment normally employing between 20 and 49 employees, or (2) at least 10 employees redundant in an establishment employing between 50 and 100 employees, or (3) at least 10% of the employees where between 100 and 299 are employed or (4) at least 30 employees where more than 300 are employed.
In certain circumstances, the provisions of the European Communities (Protection of Employees on Transfer of Undertakings) Regulations 2003 may apply. It provides that all the rights and obligations of an employer arising from a contract of employment, other than pension rights, existing on the date of a transfer (as defined in the Regulations), are transferred to the new employer on the transfer of the business or part thereof. A complaint that an employer has contravened these Regulations in relation to an employee may be presented to a Rights Commissioner.
The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) is mandated to secure compliance with employment rights legislation. NERA’s Workplace Relations Customer Service Section provides information in relation to employment, equality and industrial relations rights and obligations and how to obtain redress where appropriate.
Workplace Relations Customer Services staff are available to meet the Cadbury workforce to provide information and answer any questions they may have with regard to their present situation.
The State’s industrial relations machinery is available, if required, to assist the parties concerned. I know that in similar situations in the past, the parties have facilitated access to commercially sensitive information such as company accounts. It is a matter for the parties in each dispute to decide however.
Ireland’s system of industrial relations is, essentially, voluntary in nature and responsibility for the resolution of industrial disputes between employers and workers, whether in redundancy or other collective disputes, rests with the employer, the workers and their representatives. The State provides the industrial relations dispute settlement to support parties in their efforts to resolve their differences.
Even what often appears to be the most intractable of disputes is capable of resolution where both sides engage constructively and in good faith in this voluntary process. The principle of good faith implies that both sides in a dispute make every effort to reach an agreement and endeavor, through genuine and constructive negotiations, to resolve their differences.
I understand that the management and employee representatives are in discussions on the above issues and a variety of other issues.
I continue to monitor this situation very closely. Enterprise Ireland has had meetings with the company’s management on a weekly basis since the announcement of the proposed job losses. I have directed Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland to continue their drive to find alternative projects for the area affected.
