Workers want to unionise and be protected from employer retaliation.
This is the message that the Respect at Work campaign is delivering to politicians and policy makers across the country in recent months.
TDs and MEPs in the Government and opposition parties are on the record publicly supporting our campaign.
Now the Countdown is on for them to deliver for workers.
The Government must implement the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages by 15th November 2024. This groundbreaking Directive has the potential to protect union activists and support workers who want to unionise.
We are campaigning hard to make sure the Directive is made into Irish laws that work for workers including protecting union activists against victimisation and dismissal.
We are also demanding that workers have access to information about their rights and trade unions in the workplace.
The Government needs to act so that workers are better able to form a union and negotiate with their employer as a group. It’s time to level the playing field.
The reality is that along with Cyprus we are the only EU State which does not provide trade union activists with effective legal protection prior to dismissal. Proper worker representation is key to the health of an economy and the workers within it. The EU has recognised this.
Its Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages states that if a Member State has less than 80% collective bargaining coverage across its economy, that is workers being able to come together to negotiate with their employer, an action plan must be put in place to increase it.
The Directive comes into force for Ireland on 15th November. Ireland currently has approximately 34% of workers able to collectively bargain, which is overwhelmingly done through trade unions.
The best way the Government can meet its EU commitments and ensure people get a fair reward for their work is by removing some of the barriers that prevent workers from organising a trade union in their workplace.
That is why we will launch our Respect at Work general election campaign this Friday (6th September) at the Markievicz/Partridge Summer School in Carrick on Shannon.
Now is time to keep the politicians’ feet to the fire on a strong transposition and a national action plan that delivers for workers.
The Respect at Work campaign includes SIPTU, the Financial Services Union, Mandate Trade Union and the Communication Workers’ Union.