Sinn Féin has demanded a stand-alone department of labour affairs.
Party spokesman on employment and workers' rights Arthur Morgan said the new department was needed to end the current regime of weak regulation and poor enforcement of workers' rights.
Moving a motion in Private Members' time, Mr Morgan claimed that economic growth had been accompanied by the growth of exploitation of workers.
Tony Gregory (Independent, Dublin Central) said that in an industrial dispute in the Gresham Hotel in Dublin, managers had cleaned 42 rooms rather than recall workers who had been laid off.
"The workers in the Gresham are fearful what will be the next move by management in this calculated attempt to force them to accept less favourable conditions of employment. But there is no State intervention to defend the rights of the established pay and conditions of the Gresham staff."
Rejecting the motion, Minister of State for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen said he was acutely aware of the unwavering commitment of the Government in the area of employment rights provision as evidenced by the various actions and the legislative progress achieved over the last eight years.
Particular highlights would be the introduction of the national minimum wage in 2000, implementation of the fixed-term work provisions and the recent strengthening of the Labour inspectorate.
