Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 February 2025
2. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will intervene to protect employment rights and jobs in an institution (details supplied), which provides courses for TU Dublin and refuses to engage with the WRC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7039/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraLast week in the Dáil I raised the plight of teachers in the British and Irish Modern Music Institute, which provides degree courses for TUD in commercial modern music. At that point, 53 of them had been threatened with redundancy and were told they would have to reapply for their own jobs and would be facing big cuts in their pay and conditions. Their union and their strike action have now established some sort of deal which will be balloted on. However, it raises serious questions about how workers in higher education could be treated in this way.
I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. As he will be aware, Ireland has a comprehensive body of employment, equality and industrial relations legislation. Ireland’s system of industrial relations is essentially voluntary in nature. It has been the consistent policy of successive governments to support the industrial relations institutional framework. Indeed, the programme for Government commits to supporting the central role of the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court in industrial relations and employment rights.
I would always encourage parties to make every effort to reach a resolution by agreement between themselves and with the help of the industrial relations machinery of the State if necessary.
I note from media reports yesterday that there have been constructive discussions between the parties and that there may be a resolution in sight, which is welcomed by all.
All employers are responsible for ensuring their employees receive all the protections afforded them under employment legislation. The Protection of Employment Act 1977 protects and supports workers in redundancy situations. The legislation imposes certain legal obligations on employers proposing collective redundancies, including the requirement for a 30-day consultation period with employees and their representatives. Employers must notify me, as Minister of State, and the Minister for enterprise, tourism and employment, of the proposals at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes effect. Employers may not issue notices of redundancy during this period.
On 14 February 2025, the Department received a collective redundancy notification in accordance with the legislation from the company named by the Deputy. Employees have the right to refer complaints to the WRC on a wide range of employment law breaches for adjudication and redress, including the right to refer a complaint should an employer fail to consult, and that was done in this case.
That is very interesting. I was not aware the Minister of State was notified. Due to the three days of strike action and the representations of IFUT, the workers' union, it looks as if BIMM has made concessions which it is hoped are satisfactory to the workers. The context here is that 53 workers were told they were going to be made redundant but not because their jobs were gone. They were going to have to reapply for their own jobs but on lesser pay and conditions, with the creation of a new freelance grade to replace jobs which had a more formal arrangement. I am glad to say the workers have won but they should not have had to go out on strike for three days. It looks as if all compulsory redundancies are off the table now, there will be a system of career progression and some pay increases for workers. This was achieved through their own efforts. Under no circumstances should workers anywhere, but particularly where they are employed under the auspices of TUD, be made redundant and then asked to reapply for their own jobs.
As I said in my earlier contribution, Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation to protect and support workers in redundancy situations. In the first instance, responsibility for the resolution of industrial disputes between employers and workers rests with the employer and the workers and their representatives. The programme for Government supports the critical role of the WRC and the Labour Court, if it gets to that situation, in the context of industrial relations and employment rights.
As the Deputy said earlier, we all welcome the fact the employees in the company have suspended their industrial action, which is very important. Their constructive discussions have led to a possible resolution and follow-up balloting by members. The Department will continue to ensure workers' rights are strengthened, that we have robust legislation in place and that we continue to support workers.
Let us be clear, their strike action, the actions of their union and the fact the matter was raised in this House all put pressure on BIMM to come to the table. It had previously refused to go to the WRC. There is a serious issue here, especially as the workers were working under the auspices of TUD. Essentially, TUD had outsourced this degree to a private company. That contract will be up for renewal in a couple of years. I would ask the Department to talk to colleagues in other Departments, particularly the Department of higher education, and say that it should be a condition of tenders that those tendering would guarantee decent pay and conditions and not allow outsourcing to create yellow-pack grades of pay and conditions for people working in higher education. Otherwise, we will get a race to the bottom and a repeat of this kind of thing. Proactive action by the Government to prevent this happening in the future would be very useful.
I am not familiar with the detail of this specific case, but Ireland's system of industrial relations is essentially voluntary in nature. It has been a consistent policy of consecutive governments to support the development of the institutional framework within the WRC and the Labour Court. In this instance, we did receive advance notice of collective redundancies from the company which complied with the Protection of Employment Act in terms of supporting certain legal obligations. The consultation process has raised serious concerns, however, relating to what was being offered to the employees, who have the right to complain and to seek representation, which is what happened in this case. The machinery of the State is the WRC and Labour Court for any resolution.
