Law for employers who do not deal with unions

The Government is to introduce new legislation to reform industrial relations procedures in cases where employers do not deal with trade unions.

However employers will not be obliged to recognise or negotiate with unions under the measures.

The new bill aims to set out mechanisms to allow workers to air problems in relation to terms and conditions where there is no collective bargaining and to, ultimately, have these determined by the Labour Court based on the circumstances applying in comparable companies.

The new legislation follows on from a Supreme Court ruling in 2008 in a case involving Ryanair which found previous legislation in this area to be unconstitutional.

The new legislation sets out a new definition of collective bargaining and strengthens protections for workers against victimisation.