Ibec warns against legislation on minimum hours contracts

Employers’ group Ibec has warned the Government not to legislate against minimum hour or flexible contracts, saying such a move could be detrimental to the economy.

Danny McCoy, Ibec ’s director general, was responding to claims by trade unions that uncertain terms of employment are exploiting workers.

Mr McCoy also said that the tradition of a single job with a single employer has become “exceptional,” adding that full-time contracts in the past have allowed for people being kept in work despite lower demands for services.

He cautioned aginst Government measures on the issue, saying it could be to the “detriment of the economy if we legislate against this tax flexibility.”

“We had high enough unemployment as it was, we needed those flexibilities,” he said.

Mr McCoy told RTÉ's News at One that the move towards flexible contracts has been led by both employees and employers, and that this type of contract will become more common as the economy recovers.

“The vast majority of flexible arrangements that exist in the economy are actually for the benefit of employees,” he said, adding that flexible contracts are necessary for competition in the workplace and for workers to strike a “work-life balance.”

The Government has planned to bring in legislation against minimum hours contracts following recent industrial action at Dunnes Stores, where the Mandate trade union claims three-quarters of employees are on part-time contracts.

Thousands turned out to march in Dublin city centre earlier this month to demand better working conditions for Dunnes Stores workers, following a one-day strike by workers in April over low-hour contracts and rights to collective bargaining.

Tánaiste Joan Burton has said that as a former Dunnes Stores worker she supported the strike over working contracts. The Government has said it will act on the findings of the Low Pay Commission expected next month, which was established earlier this year.

Zero-hours contracts are controversial as employees are not guaranteed a minimum number of paid hours per week, and must remain on call to be brought in at the employers’ discretion.

A spokesperson for Siptu responded to the comments made by Mr McCoy, saying that “the treatment of the Dunnes Stores workers who are unable to plan their lives due to low-hour contracts illustrates the urgency of legislation, to ensure that low-paid workers in particular can be guaranteed decent and fair incomes and job conditions.”