The Trade Union Federation (TUF) yesterday warned the Government that it must fulfil commitments on employment rights compliance if workers are to be persuaded to enter new talks on a national agreement.
In a statement, Siptu president Jack O'Connor and Owen Wills, general secretary of the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU), said it was being taken as given that talks on a new agreement would take place.
"But our members will be assessing any proposal to enter talks on the basis of how far the Government has delivered on the existing agreement," they said.
"They will be particularly looking at what has been done on employment rights compliance, given the central role this issue played in securing the support of workers for Towards 2016."
Siptu and the TEEU are the constituent members of the TUF. Listing Government commitments that were yet to be fulfilled, either partially or in full, the unions called for the enactment of the Employment Rights Compliance Bill, which it said was due last year and which provides for the establishment of the National Employment Rights Authority on a statutory basis.
Among other commitments it cited were the strengthening of monitoring and inspection activity under an agreement in the electrical contracting sector, which sets legally binding minimum pay and conditions; the enforcement of a provision that every employee must have an identifiable employer and the enforcement of statutory employment records.
