merrion street

Reform of the State’s five employment rights and industrial relations bodies is delivering real results, including the elimination of the backlog for Rights Commissioner hearings, which was at 142 days in 2010, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD said today. His remarks cams as part of his opening address to the IBEC Employment Law Conference.

The Minister is in the process of reforming the State’s employment rights and industrial relations structures and processes by establishing a two-tier Workplace Relations structure and putting in place more efficient and effective workplace dispute resolution mechanisms.

The Minister outlined some of the tangible results delivered by the process so far:

·        The new single Workplace Relations Customer Service portal is now fully operational.  This replaces five separate contact points previously in place.

·        A new workplace relations interim website is now in place.

·        A Single Complaint Form that deals with over 100 first instance complaints has replaced the 30 forms previously in use.  Over 70% of all complainants now use this form.  A fully online version of the complaint form will be available later this year

·        Complaints are now acknowledged and employers notified, on average, within five working days - prior to the introduction of the single portal this was taking up to eight months.

·        Delivery of the pilot Early Resolution Service has commenced

·        The backlog for Rights Commissioner hearings has been eliminated.  It was 142 days in 2010

The Minister also outlined the next steps in the process:

·        The next major step in this reform programme is to establish the two-tier Workplace Relations structure.  This means that from the end of this year two statutorily independent bodies will replace the current five

·        The responses to the feedback on the Blueprint document are currently being considered. This will inform the drafting of the legislation, which has already commenced.

Speaking at the conference today, the Minister also said:

“Like so many other areas of Government, reform of the employment rights and industrial relations bodies has been talked about for many years but nothing has been delivered. I am determined to deliver real reform in this area so as to reduce costs for business and the taxpayer, and achieve better results for employers and employees. To date we have made substantial progress in this complex area, and I am determined to deliver a new service by the end of the year.

“I am heartened by the commitment and support that is evident in the delivery of this major public sector reform. I look forward to the next phase as we deliver a truly world-class workplace relations service that will deliver significant improvements for employers and employees while at the same time saving the taxpayer money”.

“I wish to thank all those who have contributed to the process so far, in particular those who have worked so hard to deliver the progress achieved, including Ger Deering and his team in the Project Office, my officials and the Chief Officers and staff members of the five employment bodies”.