The Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions notes with deep alarm and disappointment, the comments made by Gavin Robinson MP and Deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly MLA today, regarding the Good Jobs Employment Rights Bill.
Speaking today, the ICTU Assistant General Secretary Gerry Murphy said
The suggestion that the Good Jobs Bill should be severed before it is even able to reach the floor of the Northern Ireland Assembly is not only an affront to workers across NI, it shows a blatant disregard for the democratic process itself. The provisions of this Bill, including Trade Union rights, enjoy widespread public support from voters across all political persuasions and all demographics. Seeking to gut this bill of its key provisions without presenting any evidence or reason for doing so will fundamentally undermine workers’ faith in the devolved institutions that are meant to govern in their interests.
This bill has been in development for almost two years now and Trade Union access to the workplace has been a central pillar of the bill from the outset. Indeed, the N Executive previously agreed to a policy paper which set out the model of Trade Union access that is in the Good Jobs Bill. To turn around at the 11th hour and seek the removal of Trade Union rights is utterly misguided and deeply disingenuous.
Trade union rights are not some kind of optional add on that can be removed from this bill, they are fundamental to it. Without Trade Union rights, thousands of workers across Northern Ireland will be locked out from accessing many of the rights that the deputy first Minister says she supports.
Trade unions exist exclusively to help workers exercise their employment rights. The suggestion that this is an aggressive and expansive model of Trade Union rights, above and beyond anything that exists in Europe, is not only misleading, it is factually incorrect.
The Trade union provisions of this bill will see workers able to access a trade union in their workplace, but more than that it will regulate how that access takes place in cooperation with employers. It will remove unnecessary hostility and engender a mature and productive relationship in the workplace.
We need a step change in the quality of economic growth in Northern Ireland. Creating good jobs is fundamental to that change. Seeking to undermine the Good Jobs Bill before it even sees light of day will prevent that progress and political leaders who argue for such a course of action must be held accountable for its repercussions.
The Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is clear; the Good Jobs Employment Bill must be brought before the NI Assembly in full. We intend to step up our campaign for Trade Union rights and we will not accept anything less.
