Irish government forced to explain failure to uphold rights at international labour rights hearing
The Irish government has been called on to explain its failure to properly uphold the rights of all workers to collectively bargain with their employer - specifically freelance workers - before a hearing of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva.
The ILO hearing takes place on Friday June 3 and follows a formal complaint in 2011 from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions that Ireland had repeatedly failed to honour and give effect to ILO Conventions, on the right of freelance workers to bargain collectively with their employer.
As a member state and a signatory to ILO Conventions the Irish government will be required to attend the hearing and account for this failure.
Commenting on the hearing, General Secretary Patricia King said: "I will be very interested to hear what defence is offered by the government, especially after the unanimous passage of the recent Dail motion on worker's rights, that demanded government take action on a number of issues, not least the very specific right of freelance workers to bargain collectively."
"Ireland is clearly in breach of ILO Convention 98 and successive governments have failed to act on this issue, despite firm commitments that go back to 2008. That is something they must answer for before the ILO and member states from around the world."
The ILO sitting on the Congress complaint is scheduled to hear from an Irish government representative on its failure to act on the issue, along with representatives from Congress and business.
The effective ban on freelance workers engaging in collective bargaining follows a ruling of the Competition Authority in 2004, which categorised individual freelance workers as "business undertakings".
Successive governments have failed to act on this issue, despite a 2008 agreement between unions and government that the law would be amended to ensure freelance workers enjoyed the same rights as all workers and bring Ireland into compliance with ILO Conventions and practice.
Congress representative at the hearing, David Joyce, will tell tomorrow's hearing that:
"Congress urges the Committee to request the Government of Ireland to implement the agreement arrived at by all sides in 2008 and amend the existing law. Only then will Ireland be in compliance with its obligations under Convention 98 which affords all workers the right to collective bargaining."
