WORKERS ENTITLED TO DECENCY AND JUSTICE IN THE WORKPLACE
Labour Party Leader, Brendan Howlin TD, and Labour spokesperson on Workers’ Rights and Labour Affairs, Senator Ged Nash, have today launched Labour’s Workers’ Charter, Ensuring Decency and Justice in the Workplace’.
Labour’s plan for decency and justice at work outlines the party’s commitments to ensure that work always pays and to further strengthen worker protections.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Labour Party Leader, Brendan Howlin said:
“Workers are entitled to expect justice and decency in their workplaces. Good workplaces are not just beneficial for employees – they are good for business and our economy as a whole.
“Alongside tackling low pay and promoting a Living Wage, we must address the root causes of insecurity at work, which cause too many workers anxiety about how to pay their bills and look after their families. In the Dáil and Seanad the Labour team is working to end the scourge of exploitative employment contracts and bogus self-employment.
“The Charter we publish today builds on work we did over a year ago, updated to reflect the changed landscape we now inhabit. But this work cannot end after we publish a document. Despite the significant progress made with the industrial relations legislation we enacted in 2015, which has already had a positive impact on the pay and conditions of many working, we are acutely aware that we have not yet secured the right to engage in Collective Bargaining in this Country. This despite the passage of more than 100 years since the great Dublin Lockout of 1913. Standing here in Arbour Hill, I pledge that we in the Labour Party will continue to pursue that objective as a central priority of our work.
Senator Ged Nash said:
“Workers have the right to expect a decent income, security in the workplace and the chance to improve their personal circumstances and opportunities.
“The relentless drive for constant flexibility should never be at the entire expense of the rights of workers, particularly those who are vulnerable to exploitation in low paid and insecure jobs.
“Too many people are still going to bed on a Sunday night, not knowing what hours they will work the next week and whether they will have enough money to pay their bills.”