The Union’s National Executive Council has ratified a new policy on collective bargaining, union recognition and protections for members against union busting.
The policy, ratified at the May meeting of the Executive, is contained in a major submission to a public consultation on a national action plan on collective bargaining.
The submission is available to read on the Union’s website here.
An inter-departmental working group of senior SIPTU officials from Organising and Membership Development, the Legal Rights Unit, the industrial divisions and the Policy Research Unit drafted the Union’s submission.
Speaking about the Union’s submission, SIPTU Deputy General Secretary for Organising and Membership Development, Ethel Buckley, said:
“SIPTU welcomes the opportunity to outline our position on these crucial issues for workers and for our Union. In the submission we have set out in no uncertain terms what we want to see in Ireland’s National Action Plan.
“We want to see real action on legislation to ensure that workers have the right to engage in collective bargaining; protection for workers unionising their workplaces and engaging in union activity; and a right for workers to access a trade union”.
She added: “If the State is to meet its legal obligation to drastically improve Ireland’s level of collective bargaining, as required by the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages, then the Action Plan will have to be ambitious and robust with clear and accountable targets. We want to see a whole of government approach with all government departments and state agencies putting their shoulder to the wheel’.
The EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages requires Member States with a collective bargaining coverage below 80%, including Ireland, to provide “for a framework of enabling conditions for collective bargaining” and to “publish an action plan to promote collective bargaining coverage”.
Following a major push by the Respect at Work campaign during the last General Election, the Government committed to publishing an action plan this year.
For more on this go to the Respect at Work campaign website.