TRADE UNIONS have described yesterday’s High Court ruling on joint labour committee (JLC) wage-setting mechanisms as a devastating blow for low-paid workers.
In the aftermath of the ruling, they have urged the Government to introduce emergency legislation to protect the current system.
However, employers’ representatives welcomed the ruling and called on the Government to abolish the JLC system completely.
John Grace, the chairman of the Quick Service Food Alliance, a group of employers in the fast-food sector which brought the legal challenge, said the ruling could pave the way for increased employment. There was already a national minimum wage and 25 other pieces of legislation protecting employees’ rights.
“The JLCs were totally arbitrary, unfair and are now unconstitutional,” he said.
However, Siptu vice-president Patricia King said the High Court judgment removed the only protection low-paid workers had on their wages and conditions and was “absolutely devastating news for them”.
“It will also be very bad news for good employers whom have tried to do the right thing by their employees. It’s the case of all their birthdays coming at once for the most unscrupulous employers in the State who are now free to plunder the wage packets of poorly paid workers.”
Ms King said the Government must urgently introduce legislation to protect the JLC wage setting mechanism.
“In 2008 the previous government had agreed that such legislation would be introduced to ensure the system withstood any such constitutional challenge but failed to do so.”
Ms King said Siptu would be available to protect every worker who was attacked as a result of the High Court decision “by whatever means are necessary, including recourse to strike action”.
Jimmy Kelly, Irish regional secretary of the union Unite, and the general secretary of the Mandate union, John Douglas, also said the ruling had to be dealt with straight away by the introduction of emergency legislation.
“If the Government does not announce such action today, 200,000 workers and their families will not sleep across our country tonight,” Mr Kelly said.
Mr Douglas said: “I want to assure all workers that the trade union movement will not be found wanting when it comes to protecting them from opportunistic attacks on their pay and conditions by whatever means that are necessary and appropriate.”
However, the High Court ruling was welcomed by the employers’ group Ibec, by Chambers Ireland and by the Restaurant Association of Ireland.
Ibec urged the Government to accept the judgment and not to attempt “to resurrect this unconstitutional mechanism in some other form”.
Ibec director Brendan McGinty said: “The JLC system was set up more than half a century ago and has long since outlived its relevance. To get people back to work we need a flexible and competitive labour market.”
The Restaurants Association of Ireland called on the Government to abolish the JLC system immediately, and said 4,000 jobs could be created over 18 months if this was done.
Seán Murphy, deputy chief executive of Chambers Ireland, said: “Job retention and creation is a top priority for business.
“The ruling should have a positive impact on the Government’s plans to reform these wage-setting mechanisms and in turn help to create more jobs in the future.”