ANALYSIS:IN ITS new Industrial Relations Bill the Government is seeking to reinstitute the joint labour committee/registered employment agreement systems for determining pay and conditions for nearly 200,000 workers in various sectors.
This system had effectively been ruled unconstitutional by the High Court in a case brought by a fast-food operator last summer.
The publication of the Bill also brings to an end a sometimes fraught process within the Government in which a balance had to be found between improving competitiveness for employers – largely championed by Fine Gael – and concerns of the Labour Party for the rights of thousands of low-paid workers.
The Government is adamant that existing workers will not be affected by the changes, as they are covered by their current contracts of employment. However, some question how terms based on unconstitutional legislation could be valid.
For the Government the most important element of the new reforms appears to be that it has managed to restore a statutory system for setting pay and conditions, albeit in a changed state. This had not appeared at all certain in the wake of the High Court ruling last July.
However, for new workers in the various sectors covered by joint labour committees (JLCs), things will be different.
The net effect of the legislation is that some of the legally binding certainties set out in the previous system are no more and there is a prospect earnings will be lower than was the case in the past, although the amounts involved are impossible to predict.
For example, the old JLC system made mandatory the payment of some form of premium rate for Sunday work.
The new legislation will still make special provision for Sunday working. However, Minister for Enterprise and Jobs Richard Bruton made clear yesterday that for future employees, companies covered by the JLC system will have a choice under existing Organisation of Working Time legislation as to how they recognise this special provision.
In other words, employers could give workers more time off rather than extra money for Sundays.
Trade unions are pinning their hopes for achieving a Sunday premium on a new statutory code of practice to be drawn up by the Labour Relations Commission, which will give guidance on compensation. However, it remains to be seen how this works out on the ground.
Other aspects of the law could also have significant implications for workers, including the introduction of an inability-to-pay clause for employers, which will be policed by the Labour Court.
Separately, the JLCs will have to observe new criteria in setting pay rates. These include the level of unemployment and pay rates in comparable sectors at home and in “other relevant jurisdictions”. Unions have said this does not just include pay rates in Britain and the North. However, it remains to be seen just how meaningful this distinction proves in practice.
On the other hand, the Bill allows JLCs to set a basic adult rate and two additional higher rates, which could allow workers to progress to higher pay based on length of service or skills.
Most employer groups have criticised the legislation, with the Restaurants Association of Ireland warning of a possible new constitutional challenge.
Either way, the announcement does not mark the end of the road on the wage-setting mechanisms. There will be a lot of further negotiations between employers and unions on, for example, the new code of practice. And while the Government believes its new legislation is “robust”, it seems likely some employers will seek to find ways to bring the issue back to the courts once again.
