Unions call upon NI Executive to be allowed to do their job, and progress the Good Jobs Bill
Responding to the continued obstruction of the Good Jobs Bill, ICTU Assistant General Secretary Gerry Murphy said
Earlier this month we saw new trade union access rights come into effect in Great Britain, but it seems that workers in Northern Ireland will be left behind once again. We now face the prospect of another Assembly mandate ending without the enactment of employment protections enjoyed by workers across the Irish Sea.
Since April, the trade union movement has repeatedly called for the Good Jobs Bill to be brought before the Assembly, where elected representatives can debate, scrutinise, amend and vote on its provisions. Instead, the bill has been prevented from even reaching the Executive agenda by the DUP, blocking the democratic process before it can begin.
We now are confronted with the farcical situation where some ministers at the Executive table say that this Bill cannot be discussed because it has not received the backing of business lobby groups. When asked for their opinion, these same business lobby groups hide behind the spurious claim that they have no knowledge of the provisions contained within the Bill.
To be clear, what the Trade Union movement is seeking is the right and proper functioning of the democratic process. We welcome debate, we invite discussion, we are not looking for special treatment.
Those seeking to block this bill, whether they be a political party or a business lobby group, must be held to account. The failure to take action on Zero Hours Contracts, Fire and Re-hire, the failure to create enhanced leave entitlements for paternity and neonatal care - the responsibility for these failures lies at the door of those who blocked the Good Jobs Bill.
Some have suggested that these provisions could have been brought forward, if the provisions for workers to access a trade union were removed from the Bill. This suggestion is very telling. Why would you seek to bring forward a new set of employment rights, and then remove the means of exercising those same rights?
Trade unions are democratic organisations rooted in workplaces across Northern Ireland, representing more than one in three workers. All this bill seeks to do is to offer the opportunity of that representation to all those who may desire it. To cast this as a threat to our economy is to completely misunderstand the role of trade unions in a modern economy.
There is still an opportunity to allow elected representatives to do their job. The trade union movement will continue to call for the Good Jobs Bill to be progressed and we will stand up for working people and their right to a collective voice at work.
