Review of industrial relations timely, says Varadkar

It is timely now to review the country's industrial relations landscape given legal challenges to parts of the existing system and international developments on how employers and trades unions engage, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise and Employment Leo Varadkar has said.

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the establishment of a high-level review group to look at collective bargaining and industrial relations.

The review, which will operate under the auspices of the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF), will be chaired by Prof Michael Doherty, department of law, Maynooth University. It will include representatives from trade unions and employers as well as officials of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of the Taoiseach.

"The approach to industrial relations in Ireland is one of volunterism, whereby the State does not seek to impose a solution on the parties to a dispute but will, where appropriate, assist them in arriving at a solution. This approach has served us well for many years," Mr Varadkar said.

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“However, whilst there is an extensive range of statutory provisions designed to back up the voluntary bargaining process, some of these are currently subject to legal challenge. In the light of this and international moves to look more closely at how employers and trade unions engage on matters of mutual interest, I now consider it timely to review collective bargaining and the industrial relations landscape in Ireland.”

Objectives

The new working group will under its terms of reference:

Examine the issue of trade union recognition and its implications on the collective bargaining processes.

Examine the adequacy of the workplace relations framework supporting the conduct and determination of pay and conditions of employment, having regard to the legal, economic, and social conditions in which it operates.

Consider the legal and constitutional impediments that may exist in the reform of the current systems. In doing so, the group will need to be cognisant of the individual employment rights frameworks and the EU context. It may consider other models of employee relations and pay determination established in other member states.

Review the current statutory wage setting mechanisms and, where appropriate, make recommendations for reform. This aspect will commence following the Supreme Court ruling in the National Electrical Contractors Ireland case that is currently before the Labour Court – expected in quarter II of this year.

The group is expected to produce an interim report in July.

The employers’ group Ibec said that “internationally, we are observing a strong focus on the creation of longer term value for stakeholders as well as shareholders by business”.

“The pandemic has given renewed energy to the conversation on environmental, social and governance polices of business and has propelled the shift toward stakeholder capitalism – where businesses create sustainable value for all stakeholders, customers, employees, suppliers, communities and shareholders.

“The challenges facing our society, business and the workforce require consensus, resources and mechanisms to find solutions, and this includes the need for structured government engagement with employers and employees.”

Ibec chief Danny McCoy said on Tuesday that any review “must be consistent with Irish business competitiveness, fairness and dynamism in our labour market”.