Call for overhaul of work dispute arbitration system

The system for solving industrial disputes must be overhauled to bring it into line with EU practices, trade unions warned today.

David Begg, the general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), said the country’s industrial relations mechanism was suffering from a mix of legality and a lack of a statutory basis.

He warned that the Republic was now the only state among the original 15 EU members without a statutory basis for collective bargaining in work disputes.

Mr Begg said: “This causes particular difficulties under the Open Method of Co-ordination (OMC) for European social policy because it means that, unlike the other countries, agreements made with employers through the social dialogue process have no teeth.”

During his address to a Labour Relations Agency conference on ‘The Changing World of Work’ in Northern Ireland, Mr Begg called for a review of the industrial relations machinery to ensure Ireland follows EU practices.

He said the problem should be brought to the attention of the Rights Commissioners as a mandatory first step in employment rights cases.

The congress head claimed employment rights bodies like the Employment Appeals Tribunal have been over-legalised.

“What were meant to be informal for a for resolving disputes have turned into very cold places for workers,” he said.

“By virtue of their economic power employers can engage high priced lawyers which workers cannot afford. As such they were at a disadvantage.”

Mr Begg said there were huge advantages to settling disputes in a low key fashion, as was emphasised with the establishment of the Personal Injuries Insurance Board (PIAB).

He said that taking the legal route often turned into an adversarial confrontation which destroyed any chance of restoring the relationship between employers and workers.