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Legal Rights Unit

SIPTU Delegation at Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise

A SIPTU delegation headed by Michael Halpenny, Head of the Union's Legal Rights Unit and Divisional Secretaries, Patricia King and Gerry McCormack addressed the Joint Oireachtas Committee (JOC) on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, on Tuesday, November 3, 2009, on the issues of low pay, employment rights and collective bargaining.  Michael Halpenny pointed out the necessity of maintaining the Statutory Minimum Wage against calls from some for its reduction.

In his submission Gerry McCormack said that while he supported the modernisation of the Joint Labour Committee (JLC) and Registered Employment Agreement (REA) systems, he argued strongly that any government amendment to the new Industrial Relations Amendment Bill 2009 to provide for inability to pay on the part of employers should be strongly resisted.

On the question of Employment Rights, Michael Halpenny stressed to the Joint Oireachtas Committee the necessity of enacting the Employment Rights Compliance Bill 2008 as originally agreed and that attempts by IBEC and others to water it down should also be resisted.  The SIPTU delegation reminded the Committee that the reason why the Bill was drafted in the first place was to deal with GAMA and Irish Ferries type situations which, all agreed, should not be repeated.

Finally, on the issue of collective bargaining and union recognition, Michael Halpenny stressed the necessity for Ireland to live up to its international and European obligations and to provide for the statutory right to collective bargaining.  In this connection he pointed out the opportunities in this area afforded by Article 28 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and also informed the Committee of the recent judgement of the European Court of Human Rights which ruled in favour of the right to collective bargaining as part and parcel of the right to join a trade union.


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