The Collective Bargaining Roadmap will be published today
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What is the Collective Bargaining Roadmap and its significance?
Now today, the Department of Enterprise will be publishing its Collective Bargaining Roadmap as part of the 2024 EU directive that aims to promote collective bargaining on wages in all member states. Alan Dillon is Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise with special responsibility for small business. And he joins us now. Good morning, Alan. Morning, Tom. So, Alan, this is something which applies. Tell me what this means and particularly what it means for businesses and also for employees.
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.
the EU threshold for collective bargaining is 80%.
How does the new strategy aim to promote collective bargaining in Ireland?
I understand that Ireland falls some way short of that.
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.
And I want to come back. It's an important step. I want to come on to that in a moment. But first of all, SIP2 issued a statement yesterday saying that the government is talking out of both sides of its mouth. And in fact, there are a number of companies where collective bargaining, particularly it mentioned, name checked a number of international companies where collective bargaining does not apply.
What practical actions are included in the five-year strategy?
Where you have companies which refuse under your roadmap, under the changes that you're bringing in, where you have companies that refuse to engage with collective bargaining, will there be any change? Will they be forced to engage?
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. But Minister, can I ask?
Unions or otherwise. Can I ask? But yes, you're saying you're continuing, you're looking at it or you're continuing to look at it, but you've been looking at it for some time. My question is, will this require companies that don't engage in collective bargaining to do so?
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the Collective Bargaining Roadmap and its significance?
0:01–2:05
2
How does the new strategy aim to promote collective bargaining in Ireland?
2:05–3:37
3
What practical actions are included in the five-year strategy?
3:37–4:50
4
What challenges does Ireland face in meeting the EU collective bargaining threshold?
4:50–6:27
5
Will companies be compelled to engage in collective bargaining under the new roadmap?
6:27–7:14
6
How will the Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court be modernized?
7:14–7:43