IBEC: Voluntary element to collective bargaining 'critical to competitiveness'

IBEC has stated that maintaining a voluntarist approach to collective bargaining is critical to Irish competitiveness.

The group, which represents Irish businesses, is holding a major employment law conference today.

The Cabinet last week signed off on a number of proposals to reform the Industrial Relations Act of 2001.

"From our point of view I suppose it's very important that any parties in any industrial relations dispute come willingly and voluntarily to the table," said Maeve McElwee, head of industrial relations at IBEC..

"So we support the development of this good industrial relations framework, and is very importantly the retention of the voluntarist industrial relations situation that we have here in Ireland - so that we have no mandatory collective bargaining requirements."