Motion no: 10
The retail sector is witnessing an increasing number of employers deploying significant resources and energy to ensure their extremely profitable businesses either remain union
free or that existing union structures are undermined. This is a coordinated approach
by employers through the implementation of union avoidance or de-recognition strategies and in some cases the direct use of union busting companies. Tens of thousands of low paid workers are precariously employed in these highly profitable enterprises. Without the presence of meaningful union representation, workers will be subject to an employer led “race to the bottom” and a corresponding growth
of precarious work practices, job losses and savage attacks on current established union negotiated terms and conditions of service.
As a participating union in the concerted
joint union led campaign to successfully ensure the adoption in law of the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018, we witnessed first-hand exactly what can be achieved when unions collectively campaign together. When employers are not prepared to listen to the reasonable demands made
by employees through their union, the union movement has proved itself more than
capable of finding a way around this type of dogged resistance and towards effecting real, sustainable and beneficial work life changes for our wider membership.
Worryingly, there are a growing number of workers across various employment sectors that are now being deliberately denied, by
their employers, the human right to have their constitutional entitlement to union association reasonably vindicated. Therefore, we are calling on the incoming Congress Executive to commence an immediate, well-resourced and comprehensive campaign for the legislative introduction of meaningful and robust statutory collective bargaining and trade union access rights to assist unions in organising workers. We call on the incoming Executive Committee to initiate this campaign immediately so that it can be positioned with affiliates as a priority in developing a union led leverage campaign for
the vast improvement of Irish Labour Laws prior to the next general election.
