Workers rights and Debenhams
Deputy Bríd Smith criticised the absence of workers’ rights Bills and urged action on the Debenhams dispute and the Duffy Cahill report. The Tánaiste said sick pay and other workers’ rights legislation was coming and he could not intervene in the liquidation process.
Yesterday, the Government circulated a list of priority legislation for the spring session. There is not a single Bill in that list to deal with workers' rights, despite the massive challenges faced by workers throughout the country. Notable by its absence was any attempt to deal with the Duffy Cahill report. In addition, yesterday the Debenhams workers voted by 91% to reject the proposal from Mr. Kevin Foley to put €3 million into a retraining fund. They are asking the Government and all bodies involved in this, including the trade unions, to press for that €3 million to be put into cash as part payment for a just settlement where their redundancy entitlements have been denied to them.
There is great concern among the Debenhams workers about KPMG's attempts to remove the stock during the pandemic restrictions. It is unacceptable that non-essential work such as stock removal should be carried out. Can the Tánaiste give a guarantee that the Government will transfer that €3 million fund into cash and that KPMG will not be allowed to move the stock?
Comment on this
I obviously cannot make any commitments on behalf of KPMG. It is a court-sponsored liquidation process and the Deputy will appreciate why I cannot intervene.
There will be workers' rights legislation, including legislation on sick pay. We might not have it in this session, but I anticipate we will have it in the first half of the year. I hope I will have the co-operation of the House in getting that legislation passed before the summer recess so we can implement it before the end of the year.
I am aware of the decision of the former Debenhams workers to reject the proposals made by the chairman of the Labour Court. It is their right to do so. The Government has been engaged in this matter for many months. I have met the unions and spoken to the liquidator and Debenhams UK. I have brought in the Workplace Relations Commission and the chairman of the Labour Court. What is on offer is €13 million from the Social Insurance Fund so the former workers get their legal entitlements to redundancy and a further €3 million in training grants. It would be difficult to turn that €3 million in training grants into cash and then tell all the other workers who received statutory redundancy in the past year that they would not get it too.