THE GOVERNMENT plans to introduce temporary measures to protect vulnerable workers following a ruling yesterday by the High Court that legislation governing wage-setting mechanisms was unconstitutional.
Minster for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation Richard Bruton said last night he intended to provide protection for vulnerable workers for an interim period pending the introduction of comprehensive reforms to the joint labour committee/registered employment agreement system of setting pay and conditions.
He insisted it was not Government policy to scrap this system but to retain it in a reformed framework.
However, he said he may have to introduce some changes to the type of legislation he had originally proposed to Cabinet for reforming the wage-setting mechanisms on foot of the High Court ruling.
The Government does not intend to appeal yesterday’s High Court finding that sections of industrial relations legislation governing the joint labour committee wage-setting mechanism were unconstitutional.
Mr Bruton said both existing employees and new recruits would be covered by his planned protection measures. The Government has not spelled out the nature of the protection envisaged or stated when it will be introduced.
Mr Justice Kevin Feeney yesterday declared unconstitutional laws under which minimum pay and conditions are set under employment regulation orders proposed by joint labour committees for approval by the Labour Court.
He granted declarations that the relevant provisions of the 1946 and 1990 Industrial Relations Acts were unconstitutional after finding they delegated “excessive” law-making powers concerning pay and conditions to joint labour committees and the Labour Court without stating any policies or principles to guide those powers.
Legal and Government sources said last night that while the case centred only on the employment regulation order in the catering sector, the ruling affected similar arrangements in place in 12 other sectors.
Unions yesterday called on the Government to introduce emergency legislation to protect the wage-setting systems. They warned of possible strike action, if necessary, to protect workers who may be “attacked” as a result of the ruling.
However, the judgment was welcomed by employers, who indicated that new workers could be more seriously affected than existing staff as a result of the ruling.
The employers’ group Ibec advised member companies that “new employees hired from today onward may be offered rates and conditions which are not based on any employment regulation order.
Prosecutions being brought against employers for breaching the terms and conditions for staff covered by the employment regulation order/joint labour committee system will now fall as a result of the ruling.