Protection of Employees (Agency Workers) (No.2) Bill 2008 - Second Stage Debate - 12th March 2008

Protection of Employees (Agency Workers)(No. 2) Bill 2008 - Second Stage Debate - 12th March 2008
Senator David Norris: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ahern. He is a decent man and I know he will not take anything I say either amiss or personally. I compliment Senator Donohoe on his outstanding contribution. While I am delivering bouquets, I compliment the Labour Party on introducing an important and socially relevant Bill. It seems to be part of a pincer movement. I notice the party introduced a similar motion in the Dáil recently and applied some pressure to the Government on this issue.
I turn to the Minister of State's speech and the remarks made by my good friend and colleague, Senator Callely, on the involvement of the social partners. We are the sovereign Parliament of this land and are not bound to be deferential to the social partners. They are citizens, as are we, but as legislators, we can instruct them.
We all may be singing from the same hymn sheet but some of us are singing out of tune. There was a rather flat note in the Minister of State's speech when he stated that the Government is committed in principle to equal treatment for agency workers. What does this mean? It means the Government will not do anything really. That is what it looks like.
Deputy Michael Ahern: We will.
Senator David Norris: It may mean the Government will do something pretty weak. I have come across promises of this nature on many occasions. The Minister of State's comment that "the Government's position on the draft EU directive has been that while we support the principle of equal treatment, the most recent proposals did not have the necessary degree of balance" is what the leader of the Minister of State's party would describe in his inimitable way in the other House as "waffle". The Government side has recognised, at least, that agency people have problems getting regular jobs. I shall return to this important aspect of the debate in a minute.
I am concerned that we have not solved the problems which led to the Irish Ferries dispute. While I was involved in the styling of the Irish Ferries' Ulysses, I refused to be involved in the styling of its new ship, Oscar Wilde, because of my concerns about the way that company treats its workers. Trade unions raised considerable questions about the apparent proposal by Irish Ferries to pay less than half the minimum wage. The company thought it would be able to get away with it by virtue of some kind of offshore arrangement until a storm was raised. It may not be happening now.
Questions remain about the manner in which 500 operatives were made redundant and had their jobs filled by temporary agency workers. There was a suggestion that the employees were working 12-hour shifts for a two-month period. The company was almost boasting about the fact that the workers did not come ashore to Ireland but instead were put on a sister ship during their time off. That is very close to slavery in my opinion. It is an appalling situation in which to be. I do not know exactly what the situation was although I am not sure anyone does. There are serious questions, however. A spokesperson for the company has said that complaints about working conditions should be directed to a Cyprus-based company, Dobson Fleet Management, which employs the crew. I find it quite astonishing that the company claims it is not responsible and refers questions to an English-sounding company that is based in Cyprus.
It is regrettable that Ireland, in nasty collaboration with the United Kingdom and Hungary, is holding up the draft workers directive by reserving its position on it. The Government can massage its position any way it wants but there does not seem to be any doubt about what I have said. I note that Senator Callely is shaking his head. I do not know what the relevant officials are doing behind closed doors, in cigar smoke filled rooms if such behaviour is still allowed under the smoking regulations. I understand that 24 of the 27 EU member states, including Romania and Slovakia, have legislated to provide for equal treatment of temporary agency workers. The three countries which have not done so are Ireland, the United Kingdom and Hungary. One of the reasons we have not done so is that we have a massive inflow of immigrants.
Senator Ivor Callely: No.
Senator David Norris: Yes, it is.
Senator Ivor Callely: The Senator is mixing it up.
Senator David Norris: I am not inviting interruption.
Senator Ivor Callely: What about the other legislation?
Senator David Norris: We have a serious and nasty problem in respect of these workers.
Senator Ivor Callely: The Senator is cherry-picking.
Senator David Norris: I could not dig out any clear research pertaining to the conditions which apply. Perhaps the Minister of State and his colleagues will be able to point us in the right direction. I have found comparable stuff from our neighbouring island, however, the attitude of which we seem to be mimicking. Agency workers in the United Kingdom are paid an average of 68% of the earnings of directly employed workers. They have fewer entitlements. They do not get basic human things like medical treatment, pensions or time off. As agency workers are younger, on average, they are more vulnerable and have less control over the work they do. Work patterns of this nature are spreading into areas such as construction, retail, distribution, transport, logistics, food processing and hotel and hospitality services in which agency workers have not traditionally been involved in this country.
There are many aspects to this interesting problem. I am concerned about the involvement of agency workers in the hotel sector, for example. While I love dearly all my fellow human beings, including Slovenians, Poles and Lithuanians, I find it rather curious to be met with halting English when I go into an hotel. People who come to this country are sometimes disappointed when, rather than getting the traditional Irish welcome, they get an eastern European saying "Yes, you want?" or something similar. Workers from other countries are pretty vulnerable because they are not always in tune with, or aware of, the employment conditions which apply in this country.
I am not sure if it has been mentioned that 520 employment agencies operate in this country which has a population of approximately 4.2 million. Poland, which has a population ten times that of Ireland, has slightly more than 700 agencies or not even twice as many as Ireland. There seems to have been a bloom of agencies on Ireland's troubled employment waters. Just ten of this country's 520 agencies were inspected in 2005. There were 21 inspections in 2006 and six in the first half of 2007, which was after the former Deputy, Joe Higgins, unearthed the problems faced by the Gama workers. The meanest aspect of this matter is that employers frequently employ agency workers for 11 months before kicking them out, which means they do not have to fulfil their obligations, and employing another set of temporary workers. Such behaviour is in flagrant defiance of the intention of the Oireachtas, regardless of whether that intention is enacted in the legislation. This is really awful.
Like my good friend, Senator Callely, I am a north-sider from Dublin. I was concerned to read an article recently written by Matt Cooper about Arnotts, which is the best department store in this city, closely followed by Clerys and to hell with the south side.
Senator Ivor Callely: Hear, hear.
Senator David Norris: Mr. Cooper wrote that it is suspected that 600 jobs will be lost during of the redevelopment of Arnotts.
An Cathaoirleach: The Senator's time is up.
Senator Ivor Callely: This is an important point. The Senator should be allowed to talk about the north side.
Senator David Norris: Irish Ferries got rid of 500 staff.
Deputy Michael Ahern: John Arnott, who founded the store, was a Cork man.
Senator David Norris: We have to watch this space to see if Arnotts, which is a wonderful firm, engages in the noxious practice of hiring agency workers when it reopens.
Senator Jerry Buttimer: Senator Norris is going for the Dáil.
Senator David Norris: I would not touch it.
Senator Ivor Callely: Well done, David.