New Morning or False Dawn? The Impact of the ‘Right to Bargain’ Trade Union Recognition Provisions

The right to freedom of association and the right of trade unions to bargain on behalf of workers are rights that have been internationally recognised in the International Labour Organisation's Convention No. 87 of 1948, the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention. Trade union bargaining rights in Ireland, however, have been premised on the notion of ‘voluntarism’, i.e. the avoidance of statutory regulation. More recently, Irish trade unions have been key participants in the social partnership process that has driven socio-economic policy for almost 20 years. As part of this process, the union movement has tried to focus attention on the question of trade union recognition rights. In Ireland, no mandatory legal procedure exists for dealing with union recognition claims; the granting of recognition remains largely an issue to be worked out voluntarily between employers and unions (Gunnigle et al., 2002). Disputes that occur can be referred to the Labour Court, whose recommendations are generally non-binding. Under the fourth of the social partnership agreements, Partnership 2000, a high level group comprising union and employer representatives and industrial relations experts was set up to examine the issue. The result was the drawing up of the Code of Practice on Voluntary Dispute Resolution and the passing of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001 (which was further amended in 2004). It is important to bear in mind that this remains a voluntary procedure. In the UK, the 1999 Employment Relations Act also set out to promote voluntary trade union recognition agreements, but provided a statutory procedure whereby trade unions could seek formal recognition by employers if forty per cent of the workforce were in favour of membership. By contrast, in Ireland mandatory recognition will not be imposed on employers, and the process relates only to claims regarding terms and conditions of employment, dispute resolution and disciplinary procedures.

This project seeks to examine how the legislation, in its first years of operation, has affected overall union claims for recognition and its impact on the Irish ‘voluntarist’ system of industrial relations (at present, a constitutional challenge to the legislation is being mounted by a major Irish company). In particular, a key issue to address the extent to which the legislation has facilitated unions’ recognition campaigns in previously non-union, and especially ‘new economy’, establishments. This was the hoped-for outcome on the part of the unions. However, it may be the case that the provisions are mainly being used by trade unions to win back lost ground in their ‘traditional heartlands’.

The project will take a quantitative and qualitative approach to the issue. First, a quantitative assessment of Labour Court recommendations/determinations under the provisions will be undertaken (the nature of disputes that arise, the types of companies involved, the outcomes). Following this, a sub-sample of disputes will be selected for qualitative case study analysis (interviews with key union, management and employee participants), focusing on in-depth examinations of the disputes, the outcomes and the legacy. From this, it should be possible to give a detailed account of the operation of the provisions in practice and derive policy recommendations. The research falls within the areas of law and regulation, ‘new governance, industrial relations and sociology.

Doherty, M 2007. 'Union Sundown? The Future of Collective Representation Rights in Irish Law', Irish Employment Law Journal, Vol > 4, pp96 - 102