Unions seek changes in 'right to bargain' legislation

In late 2001, Irish trade unions are already expressing disappointment with the country's new 'right to bargain' legislation on union recognition, and are likely to seek changes. About 30 cases have begun using the new procedures, with mixed success so far.

Ireland has recently introduced a two-part approach to dealing with the issue of worker representation and union recognition. The provisions are based on an agreement on the recognition issue reached in 1999 by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC), which aimed to maintain the essentially 'voluntarist' nature of the Irish industrial relations system (IE9903135F).

The first stage of the new representation system - which has been in place since mid-2000 - is known as the 'voluntary procedure', covered under a Code of Good Practice on Voluntary Dispute Resolution drawn up by the Labour Relations Commission (LRC). The aim of this voluntary procedure or option, under which both management and trade union(s) can decide to use the LRC's advisory service, is to secure agreement on the representation of workers on a consensus basis. Under this process, the LRC acts as a 'facilitator'.

The second, compulsory component of the new provisions - which came in effect in June 2001 (IE0108242N) - is known as the 'fall-back' provision. This is activated if an employer refuses to enter the voluntary procedure. The measure provides for a full Labour Court hearing, resulting at first in a non-binding recommendation on the issues in dispute. If this initial recommendation fails to resolve the dispute, then the union can apply to the Court for a 'determination'.

However, the new 'right to bargain' legislation – initially hailed as a pragmatic compromise on the unions' desire for statutory union recognition – has been the subject of discontent among unions in late 2001, 18 months after its first provisions became law.

As outlined above, the legislation does not provide for statutory union recognition, but a process which eventually leads to a binding decision by the Labour Court adjudication body on pay and conditions. This binding decision comes after a long process of voluntary engagement, which can last up to two years. Many on the trade union side feel this is too long, with newly recruited members unlikely to wait for this length of time for recognition.

Previously, in union recognition disputes the Labour Court had always supported recognition. These were non-binding decisions and were usually ignored by non-union employers, but they provided a justification if a union sought to achieve recognition through industrial action.

Now the Labour Court is directing all union recognition disputes into the new procedures. The unions have asked the Labour Court to recommend in favour of recognition in cases where the employer does not wish to engage in the new 'right to bargain' process.

Employers' bodies, on the other hand, have hinted that if any changes are sought in the 'right to bargain' system originally agreed by the social partners, they are likely to seek an extension of the use of binding powers by the Labour Court in companies which have always been unionised. If this were to happen, it could erode Ireland's traditional voluntarist industrial relations culture.

Of the 28 cases which have so far entered the voluntary stage of the process – run by the Advisory Service of the LRC – three have completed the voluntary stage. Two of these have resulted in agreements, with a third being referred to the next, binding stage of the procedure.

Of the 25 remaining cases, 13 are ongoing. In the remaining 12, nine resulted in the employer failing to engage in the process, with the union withdrawing or putting on hold the process in the other three. Just six of the 28 companies were multinational firms, with the rest being indigenous Irish firms of various kinds.