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Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation today [Tuesday] welcomed receipt of the Report of the Labour Court’s Review on the Reform of the Joint Labour Committees. The Minister said: “The report is the most comprehensive review of the Committees since they were first established over 60 years ago. I asked the Labour Court to undertake the review in line with the provisions of the Industrial Relations Act which I introduced last year and I would like to thank the Court for its work in this regard”. “I view this report very much within the context of the continuous process of reform in the area that is designed to improve Ireland’s competitiveness by enhancing wage flexibility while also ensuring protection for vulnerable workers. Specifically, the Report suggests a template on how many Committees will continue in existence, and the format within which they will operate over the next five years”. � “While the report is detailed, comprehensive and complex and demands careful examination and consideration I would hope to be in a position to indicate my response to the Report shortly”. NOTES FOR EDITORS JLC Review Section 41A of Industrial Relations Act 1946 (inserted by Section 11 of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012) provides that reviews of each Joint Labour Committee (JLC) will be carried out by the Labour Court, as soon as practicable after the commencement of the Act, and at least once every 5 years thereafter. In this context, the Labour Court appointed Ms. Janet Hughes to undertake the review of the 10 existing JLCs on its behalf. The Review was completed on April 12, 2013. The review assisted the Labour Court’s deliberations as to whether any JLC should be abolished, maintained in its current form, amalgamated with another JLC or its establishment order amended and the Labour Court is required to make recommendations to me to this effect. The Labour Court submitted its report to the Minister on 22 April 2013. The Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act, 2012 The main provisions of the legislation in relation JLCs are as follows. 1. It allows companies to derogate from the terms of Employment Regulations Orders and Registered Employment Agreements in cases of financial difficulty, while ensuring the protection of employees and avoiding distortion of competition. 2. It permits Joint Labour Councils (JLCs) to set a basic adult rate and two supplementary minimum rates. This will substantially reduce the number of rates while acknowledging the freedom of JLCs to establish two higher rates based on length of service in the sector or enterprise concerned as well as the standards and skills recognised for the sector concerned. Sub-minimum rates expressed as fixed percentages of the adult basic rate will apply, as in the case of the National Minimum Wage, to employees aged under 18 years, first time job entrants, and employees undergoing training. All other rates of pay will be agreed at firm level. 3. A comprehensive review of the scope of each individual JLC must be undertaken by the Labour Court after the commencement of the Act to ensure that the range of establishments to which they apply remains appropriate, with consequent changes to their Establishment Orders if necessary. These reviews will be undertaken every five years in the future. 4. Criteria to be observed in the making of any EROs agreed by JLCs will take the form of specific principles and policies (having regard to the decision of the High Court in John Grace Fried Chicken Ltd and others v. The Catering Joint Labour Committee, The Labour Court, Ireland and the Attorney General, delivered on 7th July 2011). These must include: · the legitimate interests of employers and workers likely to be affected by the proposals, including: o the legitimate financial and commercial interests of the employers in the sector in question, o the desirability of agreeing and maintaining efficient and sustainable work practices appropriate to the sector in question, o the desirability of agreeing and maintaining fair and sustainable minimum rates of remuneration appropriate to the sector in question, o the desirability of maintaining harmonious industrial relations, o the desirability of maintaining competitiveness, and o the levels of employment and unemployment in the sector in question. · The general level of wages in comparable sectors, including, where appropriate, a fair and reasonable assessment of wages in such comparable sectors in other relevant jurisdictions. · The current national minimum hourly rate of pay, under the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 and the appropriateness of fixing a higher statutory minimum hourly rate of pay · The terms of any relevant national agreement (if any) in force. 5. Removes the provision for a Sunday Premium from the scope of EROs while preserving workers entitlements under Section 14 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. (The Minister has asked the Labour Relations Commission to devise a Code of Practice on Sunday Working). Outside of the legislation, the Minister has initiated the following additional reforms: Reduced the number of JLCs by three (Provender Milling, Clothing and Aerated Waters and Bottling). Standardising benefits in the nature of pay – including overtime and the conditions under which it becomes payable – across all sectors covered by JLCs by means of a statutory Code of Practice; the consultation and drafting process in this regard is currently underway under the aegis of the Labour Relations Commission. The Labour Relations Commission is involved in a similar exercise with regard to arranging for the preparation of a new statutory Code of Practice on Sunday Working to provide guidance to employers, employees and their representatives in sectors covered by Employment Regulation Orders, on arrangements that may be put in place to comply with the options specified at section 14 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. The Rights Commissioner/Labour Court will have regard to this Code in making a decision.