Alan Dillon

So today, Tom, we're announcing a comprehensive strategy that's designed to reinforce Ireland's long-standing system of voluntary industrial relations.

And this is a five-year strategy and the plan introduces practical measures to promote collective bargaining, ensuring that our workplaces remain both fair, productive and resilient.

This strategy has been developed in close collaboration with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions

and IBEC and it delivers on a key programme for government commitment.

It has been worked through the Labour Employer Economic Forum who have asked for it and it's very much an action plan that sets out 20 practical actions across five key pillars

that's all designed to make our workplaces as I said fairer more productive and resilient and we all understand that strong dialogue builds strong economies and in doing so collective bargaining when it works well it prevents escalation and it gives both workers and employers a constructive way to solve issues before they reach crisis point and this plan strengthens those early engagement channels while also keeping workplaces more productive.

Well, it does, and it has been called for by both the EU and, as I said earlier, our own social partners under the EU Adequate Minimum Wage Directive.

Countries with lower collective bargaining coverage must create enabling conditions.

And that's what we are doing through this action plan.

It is very much...

part of government's plan and indeed government's role is to support both sides, making dialogue easier, ensuring that things are transparent and more effective for businesses.

This will mean fewer disputes.

It will also ensure that there's better staff retention and improved productivity.

For workers, we want to ensure it means better fairness, their voice is being heard, but also better security.

And through the practical actions that we have implemented, from better research to capacity building, and also modernising our existing industrial dispute machinery through the Work Relations Commission and the Labour Court.

Well, this is very much part of this strategy, and we do need to take a closer look in regards to this.

And workers should always have the right to representation, and employers should have clear channels for engagement.

And I suppose this isn't about imposing unions.

It's about empowering dialogue, because when workers and employers talk, everyone wins.

And this plan supports fair dialogue in whatever form that that takes.