Motion no: 13
Conference welcomes the beginning of the legislative process in the NI Assembly for a the ‘Good Jobs’ NI Employment Bill. This far-reaching and comprehensive legislation will, when enacted, deliver the most progressive package of workers’ rights in decades, fully utilising the devolution settlement of 1998 which mandates the MLAs elected by the people of Northern Ireland to improve employment law for everyone’s benefit.
The proposals in the consultation from the Department for the Economy and outlined further in the NIC-ICTU policy document ‘The Good Employment Plan’ are for the benefit of the whole economy, promising better work leading to better industrial relations, improved terms & conditions and onto better productivity.
This promising development is the result of years of research, of lobbying political leaders and civil society, of industrial action for just outcomes and of a widespread recognition that the ideology which suppressed wages and workers’ rights for decades has resulted in profound social inequality reflected in workplaces that serve neither workers, service users or customers.
This movement is united in focusing its lobbying efforts over the remaining mandate of the NI Assembly elected in 2022 to fulfilling the promise of this vision. We are determined to leave a legacy which will be of benefit for people working now and for those who are yet to begin their working lives.
These are our ideal outcomes. They are all achievable:
- Collective bargaining in workplace and across sectors;
- Access for workers to join trade unions;
- A right of access for a trade union representative to access a workplace and engage with the workers;
- Simplification of the process of have a trade union recognised;
- Protections for Trade Union Representatives;
- Statutory rights for trade union equalities representatives;
- Electronic ballots for union elections and industrial action;
- The right to take official industrial action free from the fear of dismissal or victimisation;
- A single employment status category of ‘worker’;
- Day 1 employment rights and protections;
- A right to seek flexible working arrangements;
- Replacing zero-hours contracts with guaranteed contractual hours per week;
- Clearer employment contracts and itemised payslips;
- Public Procurement to Improve Employment Models;
- Ending Fire-and-Rehire;
- Reform of Employment Tribunals;
- Better Enforcement of Employment Rights;
- A Comprehensive Review of Work-Life Balance Measures;
- Strengthened flexible leave entitlements as well as access to family leaves;
- A Right to ‘disconnect’ - to not perform work outside agreed working hours.
Conference endorses the contents of ‘The Good Employment Plan’ and affirms its intention to ensure the delivery of the full potential of this legislation.
