Labour seeks to amend Competition Act

The Labour Party has introduced a Bill in the Dáil to amend the Competition Act to allow for collective bargaining so that trade unions such as Irish Equity could represent actors and the HSE could talk directly to the Irish Pharmaceutical Union.

Labour TD Michael D Higgins said the Bill aimed to "ensure the right to collective bargaining of what can be, and often have been, some of the most exposed workers in the State.

These include, although are in no way confined to, members of Irish Equity, members of the Musicians' Union of Ireland and others who have been precluded from negotiating with the people to whom the sell their services as employees by way of collective bargaining.

"These are often in instances of severe asymmetry, where an individual seeks to negotiate with a large and dominant organisation."

But Minister of State Michael Ahern said the Bill was "in effect championing price fixing, which is a serious crime carrying a maximum prison sentence of five years".

He also said that "while these provisions are well meaning, I am concerned that they have far reaching consequences which may go further than intended".

The Minister insisted that he could not "ignore the anti-competition and anti-consumer consequences".

Mr Higgins said that "the current dispute between the HSE and the pharmacists over plans to cut the margins for dispensed drugs has been greatly complicated by the refusal of the HSE to negotiate collectively with the Irish Pharmaceutical Union.

"The HSE has argued that a High Court decision taken by the Competition Authority and brought to the steps of the court in the case of Actors' Equity prevents it from negotiating with the Irish Pharmaceutical Union, arguing that pharmacists are 'undertakings'," Mr Higgins said.