Legislation is being drafted to create a new legal framework to replace the Registered Employment Agreement (REA) system. The REAs used to set wage rates and other employment conditions in low paid sectors like retail and hospitality until they were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court last year.
The restoration of legal wage protection in these sectors was one of the pay restoration priorities identified by IMPACT at its delegate conference last May.
Jobs minister Richard Bruton and Minister of State Gerald Nash said the new laws would allow unions to ask the Labour Court to review and make recommendations on pay and other conditions in defined low paid sectors.
Separately, Nash has confirmed that he will be establishing a low pay commission to review the statutory minimum wage, which sets the legal pay floor for the entire economy.
The May 2013 Supreme Court judgement invalidated the prevailing REAs, allowing employers to reduce already low pay rates for new staff.
The Government intends to publish the legislation during the next Dáil session, which begins next month, and says it wants a new law on the statue book as soon as possible.
The new law will have to make various changes to the old REA system to take account of the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling. These will include establishing criteria that the Labour Court must take into account when considering pay and conditions, allowing interested parties to make submissions, and introducing measures to ensure that both employers and unions are “substantially representative” in the relevant sector.
The law is also to include enforcement, compliance and anti-penalisation measures.
