Fine Gael TD says collective bargaining could deter foreign investment

There is a danger that new Government legislation aimed at giving workers greater rights to engage in collective bargaining could act as an impediment to foreign direct investment, Fine Gael TD John Deasy has said.

Speaking at the Dáil Public Accounts Committee, he said the timing for introducing the planned legislation “was bad”.

“We have just ended the double Irish. We don’t know what is going to happen. The last thing we want to do is pass legislation that could put a doubt in the mind of US investors about coming to Ireland.”

The introduction of collective bargaining legislation is a key issue for the trade union movement and has been strongly backed by the Labour Party.

Previous legislation in this area was struck down by the Supreme Court in a case brought by Ryanair in 2007.

Under the proposed legislation in cases where it can be demonstrated that collective bargaining does not exist in a company, a group of workers would have a right to a hearing at the Labour Court – where they could be represented by a trade union – and have their case examined in comparison with similar firms, both unionised and non-unionised. In such cases, the Labour Court would be permitted to issue a recommendation that is binding in law.

Mr Deasy said the planned legislation should be put on hold until the economy recovered to the point that issues such as collective bargaining could be looked at. He said the IDA was doing an amazing job in attracting foreign direct investment and there was a danger that the proposed legislation could act as an impediment.

IDA chief Martin Shanahan said Ireland scored really highly on labour market flexibility. He said he understood the new legislation would seek to strike a balance between competitiveness for employers and protecting workers’ rights to engage in collective bargaining.

Mr Deasy said the proposed legislation would not involve mandatory trade union recognition.

However, he said it “certainly could allow unions to drag a company to the Labour Court – something that has not existed since the Industrial Relations Act was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2007”.

Mr Deasy said the general feeling from people who dealt with labour law was that the proposed collective bargaining legislation was “not necessary” and that existing laws were robust.