Workers’ legal rights fall short
by Mark Corcoran
 
The report also expressed concerns about inadequate protections for employees, discriminatory policies that affect disabled employees, and the prevalence of discrimination and sexual harassment in our labour market.
The report also expressed concerns about inadequate protections for employees, discriminatory policies that affect disabled employees, and the prevalence of discrimination and sexual harassment in our labour market.

Significant action is needed to meet Government commitments to improve legal protections for workers in Ireland according to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC).

 

In its latest report to the Council of Europe, the commission highlighted the absence of a legal right to collective bargaining which, it said, led to an imbalance of power between workers and their employers. It recommended immediate Government action to address these gaps.

 

The IHREC’s chief commissioner Sinéad Gibney identified the need for an organised and robust workforce, with access to union representation for effective worker representation and negotiations on pay and working conditions.

 

“Workers’ rights are key to accessing a range of other rights. If you’re low paid, working long hours under pressure, cut off from information about your job security, and unable to join a union, this impacts your health, your family, and whether you can afford adequate accommodation or childcare,” she said.

 

The report also expressed concerns about inadequate protections for employees, discriminatory policies that affect disabled employees, and the prevalence of discrimination and sexual harassment in our labour market.

 

“No one should suffer discrimination due to their economic or social situation. Yet we see this happen daily throughout the country. It is vital that the State steps up and delivers on its commitments to all people working to earn a living,” said Gibney.

 

The commission called on the Government to show more ambition in the introduction of a new ground of discrimination, based on socio-economic disadvantaged status, in Ireland’s equality legislation. State-commissioned research on this has yet to be published.

 

It also recommended that the Employment Equality Acts be amended to address gaps in protections for domestic workers. Read the report HERE.

 

It’s never been more important – or easier – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

LikeLike (0) | Facebook Twitter