Five employment rights bodies would be replaced by a single structure for tens of thousands of workers under proposals announced today by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton.
Mr Bruton issued a discussion document following his controversial announcement last month of changes in how wages would be set in future in sectors covered by the joint labour committee (JLC) system.
Those affected work mainly in the catering, hotels, retail and hairdressing sectors.
Mr Bruton has invited submissions from interested parties to the proposals by September 16th.
He said that the State's employment rights bodies had grown up in a haphazard manner over the years and were not fit for purpose.
Under Mr Bruton's proposals, individuals would be able to take their own case against an employer and not have to rely on a legal representative, a representative body or a labour inspector.
A new compliance model would be established whereby grievances and disputes were resolved as close to the workplace as possible.
Mr Bruton said the proposals would not affect the well-established statutory mediation and conciliation processes dealing with collective disputes under the remit of the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court.
