Rose Conway-Walsh: Govt Absent as Workers Seek Union Rights
Rose Conway-Walsh addressed tonight's debate and criticised the lack of government speakers, calling for legal access to trade unions and expanded collective bargaining to help workers through the cost of living crisis. She thanked the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and set out Sinn Féin's proposals, including a PRSI rebid to help small and medium employers.
What she said: Rose Conway-Walsh expressed dismay that government did not engage in the debate and argued that the absence sends a worrying message to workers. She thanked opposition colleagues and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions for reflecting the lived reality of workers whose voices need to be heard.
Workers and collective bargaining: Conway-Walsh framed the motion around two urgent priorities: supporting workers during the ongoing cost of living crisis and expanding collective bargaining so employees have a real voice in the workplace. She challenged claims that constitutional or legal barriers prevent parties from exercising collective bargaining and said current arrangements are not working for workers.
Small business and competitiveness: Addressing concerns for small and medium businesses, she pointed to Sinn Féin's alternative budget proposal, which included a PRSI rebid designed to ease inequities and support small employers. She also referenced the national training fund as an available resource and called for imagination in addressing competitiveness.
Message to government: Conway-Walsh concluded with a direct appeal that everybody must have legal access to a union. Her message asks the government to act so workers can legally and effectively access trade unions and collective bargaining rights.
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Go raibh maith agat. So I want to thank all the colleagues for their contributions here tonight. I have to say I'm really dismayed to see the lack of government speakers on this really important issue tonight. It doesn't bode well and I think it sends a message out to workers that, you know, there's nothing more to see here. So I am really disappointed. I want to thank all of the opposition for their contributions and I want to acknowledge the work of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the engagement we had earlier today. Their contribution reflects the lived reality of workers across the state and their voices deserved to be heard. Our motion was grounded in two simple but urgent priorities, supporting workers through the ongoing cost of living crisis and expanding collective bargaining so workers have a real voice in the workplace. I want to address a couple of things, you know, this nonsense that no constitutional or legal impediment which prevents parties who wish to exercise the right to collective bargain from freely doing so. I think just that really shows how out of touch you are with the reality of the way workers are treated when they try to access, without having that legal provision there, it really is not going to work. It hasn't worked. And, you know, the fact that you have companies who have branches in other jurisdictions who, you know, have that legal, that right to access trade unions just isn't right. So it shows that companies are well able to do that. I want to address as well the situation of small businesses and medium businesses because we all absolutely care about competitiveness. But that's why Sinn Féin and our alternative budget, we provided for a PRSI rebid and it was exactly to address those type of things, to address the inequity there where employers, small employers may need that extra bit of help. You know, we have a national training fund, we have surpluses there, we just need a bit of imagination. But we collectively agree that everybody has to have access to a union and legal access to a union. And that is not going to go away. So my message to government tonight is everybody should have a right to have legal access to a union.
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