Minister Calleary announces publication of Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill
The Minister for Labour Affairs, Mr. Dara Calleary, T.D., today (Friday 7th August 2009) announced publication of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill.
The purpose of the Bill is to strengthen the existing system for the making of both Employment Regulation Orders and Registered Employment Agreements and to provide for their continued effective operation.
Minister Calleary said: “In the context of the Review and Transitional Agreement, the Government and the social partners agreed to the implementation of a series of measures, including the introduction of legislation, to strengthen the existing system for the making of both Employment Regulation Orders and Registered Employment Agreements and to provide for their continued effective operation. I am pleased to say that this commitment is being met within the framework of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2009, which has now been published.”
According to the Minister, “The Joint Labour Committee and Registered Employment Agreement systems have been the subject of a number of recent legal challenges in the courts. This Bill will provide for a number of amendments to the existing legislative framework surrounding the JLC and REA systems, including improved procedures, and clear principles and policies to be taken into account by JLCs when formulating proposals for EROs. The Bill also provides that legislative effect for EROs and REAs will in future be made by Ministerial Order and provides for Oireachtas scrutiny of the Orders.”
In publishing the Bill, the Minister also reiterated his recent suggestion that it may be timely to consider bringing the Joint Labour Committee and Registered Employment Agreements systems into line with the procedures already established here under the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000 that allow individual employers to submit “inability to pay” claims to the Labour Court for adjudication.
“In my view, a reform on these lines would contribute to protecting employment in situations where employers are faced with severe economic challenges. I look forward to engaging on this issue with the social partners in the context of our consultations on the Bill.”
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Note for Editors
Joint Labour Committees
Minimum rates of pay and other conditions of employment for workers in certain sectors are set down in Employment Regulation Orders (ERO's) currently made by the Labour Court. These orders are determined on the basis of proposals negotiated and drawn up by the relevant Joint Labour Committees (JLCs). The JLCs are independent bodies and are composed of equal numbers of representatives of employers and workers in a particular sector with an independent Chairman. The JLCs covering the Catering and Hotels sectors have, over the years, agreed terms and conditions that include the payment of premia for Sunday work to the workers covered by their respective remits.
Registered Employment Agreements
An Employment Agreement is an agreement made either between a trade union and an employer or employers organisation or at a meeting of a registered Joint Industrial Council, which relates to the pay or conditions of employment of any class, type or group of workers. Employment Agreements may be presented to the Labour Court for registration. Where the Labour Court is satisfied that the agreement presented satisfies the statutory requirements, it registers the agreement. The effect of this is to make the provisions of the agreement legally enforceable in respect of every worker of the class, type or group to which it is expressed to apply and to his or her employer, even if such worker or employer is not a party to the agreement.
National Minimum Wage Act 2000
The National Minimum Wage Act, 2000, includes a mechanism enabling the Labour Court to grant an employer in financial difficulties a time-limited, once off exemption from having to pay a number of employees the national minimum wage. Under Section 41 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000, it is provided that where an employer cannot afford to pay the national minimum wage due to financial difficulty, an application can be made to the Labour Court and it can, following an inquiry, exempt the employer from paying the rate for between 3 months and 1 year.
The employer must apply to the Labour Court for the exemption and be able to demonstrate that the proposed exemption has the consent of a majority of the employees, who must also agree to be bound by the Labour Court decision.
“Hardship” or “inability to pay” clauses are a feature of legally enforceable multi-employer sectoral agreements across a range of EU countries (including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and Italy) and have been introduced to assist firms in crisis situations to respond, through temporary measures, to adverse labour market conditions and pressures to regain competitiveness.
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Last modified: 07/08/2009
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