Will the Taoiseach join me in congratulating two female migrant workers who recently won a quite significant claim against their unfair dismissal in the Labour Court? Julia Marciniak, who is originally from Poland, and Lenka Laiermanova, who is originally from the Czech Republic, were found to have been sacked by the Ivy restaurant on Dawson Street for trade union activity. These two experienced waitresses joined the newly opened Ivy restaurant in 2018. They found that customer tips were being taken by management and were being used to make up the difference between their contracted wages and the minimum wage. After Lenka contacted me through my constituency office, I arranged for her and for a group of her fellow workers to meet the trade union Unite, which they joined. It sought negotiation rights with the Ivy, which were rejected.

It is quite rare for an unfair dismissal case over trade union activity to be won in the Labour Court and the case has a wider significance. That significance is that while the Unfair Dismissals Act only kicks in after one year of work with a specific employer, there are exceptions to this, one of which is trade union activity. However, that one-year rule gives some employers and managers a licence to dismiss workers on a whim. As Julia said to The Irish Times, “if you ask about your breaks, you can be dismissed. See ya!” Both Julia and Lenka, as well as Unite’s regional secretary, Brendan Ogle, have called for the Act to be amended to give all workers protection against unfair dismissal from day one of their employment.

The other aspect of this is that there is no penalty under the Act for employers that are found to have unfairly dismissed staff. All the Labour Court can do is make an employer pay for loss of earnings for up to two years after an unfair dismissal. As both Julia and Lenka found work and new jobs very quickly, the compensation to be paid by the Ivy is quite limited. There should be penalties against employers that are found to have unfairly dismissed workers.

Finally, will the Taoiseach join me in congratulating Julia and Lenka and their trade union, Unite, on this victory over a very exploitive, bullying employer, as well as encouraging all workers who are suffering low pay, who are being bullied by employers and managers and are being denied their rights under labour law to join a union and to stand up for themselves and their workmates? When you act together with the backing of your union, you can win.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I pay tribute to two workers concerned. To go to an unfair dismissal tribunal is not an easy journey. It can be a very challenging one for young workers. I pay tribute to them for seeing that through. On the specifics of the case, the Deputy is saying that the tips were essentially being retained or kept or were being used as part of wages, which is an absolutely unacceptable practice. There is separate work being done by the Government in relation to that. In my view, that is reprehensible and wrong; if that was what transpired here.

I also should say to the Deputy that under the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, discussions are under way between trade union leadership, employer leadership and the Government in respect of collective bargaining more generally. We have freedom of association in the country under the Constitution. That governs the relationship between the employer and the employees.

It is not as simple to resolve as one might think, but serious negotiations are under way in respect of it through LEEF. Equally, in my view, employees should always feel entitled to raise issues without being punished for doing so by employers as a basic code of conduct that has to apply in employer-employee relations. If the Deputy has specific proposals in the context of labour relations reforms that are being contemplated and how they can be improved to enhance the rights of workers and facilitate the smooth operation of collective bargaining in worker-employer relations, I will certainly discuss them with the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

I thank the Taoiseach for joining me in congratulating those workers. As he said, it was a very high bar, and there is no other case we know of in Ireland in which an unfair dismissal dispute over trade union activity has been won. The unfair dismissals legislation should be amended to give all workers protection from unfair dismissal from day one of their employment, not just after 12 months, which is much too long. We must also deal with the issue whereby there is no penalty under the Act for employers that are found to have unfairly dismissed a worker. There is also the issue of trade union recognition, which the Taoiseach mentioned, and the right of a union to access the premises of its members, another crucial issue that has to be addressed.

The Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Bill 2022 is going through Committee Stage at the moment. It partly addresses the issue of employers robbing employees of tips but it must deal with the issue of service charges, which have to go. The Ivy restaurant still applies a 12.5% service charge to all tables. It is used to pay wages and to supplement business income. An owner-manager of a bar-restaurant in Connemara says service charges should be abolished and I concur. Does the Taoiseach agree?

I am minded to be disposed to the abolition of service charges. In any event, there should be full and absolute transparency governing them. Many people are under the impression that when they pay a service charge, it goes to workers and that is not the case in many instances. We need absolute transparency. Ideally, the consumer should hand tips directly to the employee, or to a group of employees, however those mechanisms can be facilitated, as an additional contribution if he or she is so minded. That needs to be absolutely clarified and in the context of the legislation going through the House, the Tánaiste is anxious to clarify that and make it as transparent and simplified as possible in respect of the reality on the ground.

In respect of amendments to the Unfair Dismissals Act, a balance has to be struck between competing rights, practical issues with employment and so forth. Again, that is a matter we keep under constant review. Trade union activity in itself should not be the subject matter of a dismissal.