I send solidarity to the workers at the Corrib Oil filling station in Ballinasloe who area due to strike this Saturday, having been on strike on 22 December. The workers have been driven to strike because of the refusal of their employer to recognise their union of choice, namely, Mandate. Because of the so-called voluntarist model of industrial relations here, there is no legal mechanism to force the employer to engage with the union except by the workers exercising their right to strike. It is an important strike for that reason. If the strike is successful, it will make it easier for every Corrib Oil and H2 Group outlet to have a union contract, leading to better terms and conditions, paid-for training, realistic pay scales and a better environment for everyone. I encourage the workers at the other 20 Corrib Oil outlets and the other 14 H2 Group outlets to join the union. Does the Minister agree that the employer should recognise the union?

This country works on a partnership basis. I mentioned Government earlier. The Government listens through the National Economic and Social Council and the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, where we meet both employers and unions. One of the most positive and progressive developments in the past year has been the willingness of employers and unions to advance and improve the recognition of trade unions within the system in our country. The mechanisms to facilitate that are not perfect and may not meet every particular circumstance - I do not have the details of the dispute in the particular filling station to which the Deputy referred - but there have been advances in the recognition of trade unions in the past year through that partnership approach. That is what we will deliver on.