The Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act, passed last year to help resolve problems over trade union recognition, may be more of a hindrance than a help, according to a new study from the University of Limerick.
The authors, Dr Daryl D'Art and Dr Thomas Turner, suggest that alternative legislation such as that in the UK, North America and Scandinavia, would be more clear-cut and effective.
So far only one case has been taken to a successful conclusion from a trade union perspective in the Republic, using the new legislation, compared with 80 cases under the Employment Relations Act in the UK during 1999, its first year in operation.
The largest union, SIPTU, is known to be particularly unhappy with the legislation.
The Act does not deal directly with the issue of union recognition. Instead, it provides for unions to refer disputes over pay and conditions to the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court. If the employer fails to co-operate the court may make a ruling on improved pay and conditions, but not union recognition. This may take up to two years.
The authors argue that the process is so protracted that it leaves union activists open to victimisation and that, far from being voluntaristic, the system has areas where statutory regulations determine industrial relations issues, such as the Unfair Dismissals Act, the Employment Equality Act and the Working Time Act.