The Government has set out new reforms to joint labour committees and other systems for setting pay which it says will make them fairer and more responsive to changing economic and labour market circumstances.
Minister for Enterprise and Jobs Richard Bruton said that new legislation published today would reinstate a “robust system of protection” for workers in sectors where pay and conditions are governed by these arrangements.
About 190,000 workers in areas such as catering, hotels, hairdressing, cleaning and security have their terms and conditions set down in legally-binding employment regulation orders (ERO). These are produced on foot of deliberations of joint labour committees involving union and employer representatives.
Tens of thousands of other workers have their pay and conditions laid down in legally enforceable registered employment agreements which are drawn up between employers and unions in a sector and registered by the Labour Court. The largest areas covered are the construction and electrical contracting sectors.
However, in a case brought by a fast food operator, John Grace Fried Chicken last July, the High Court found that sections of industrial relations legislation governing the joint labour committee wage-setting mechanism were unconstitutional.
Under the new reforms, the number of joint labour committee is to be slimmed down considerably from 13 at present to six. There will also be a significant reduction in the number of separate rates they can set. Under the previous system there were around 300 separate rates set by joint labour committees.
In the future each of the six committees will only be able to set one basic adult rate and two supplementary minimum rates.
One of the more important areas of the new legislation for workers is that in future joint labour committees will no longer set premium rates for Sunday working. Instead, workers in these sectors will have to rely on provisions in other employment legislation which could see some employers offer time off in lieu.
There is, however, to be a new statutory code of practice on Sunday working to provide guidance for employers and employees on the compensatory arrangements that should apply “including such additional amounts as are reasonable”.
In future, joint labour committees will also have to observe new criteria in making EROs. These include unemployment levels in the sector concerned and the general level of wages in comparable sectors and in similar areas in other countries.
Under the new legislation companies will also be able to secure derogations for limited periods from the scope of EROs and registered employment agreements if they can satisfy the Labour Court that they are facing financial difficulty.
The new legislation will also establish a time–bound process by which a registered employment agreement may be varied by the Labour Court in certain circumstances without necessarily obtaining the consent of all the parties concerned.
