Industrial Relations Act 1990

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Industrial Relations Act 1990
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What is the difference in an employer and an
employee?

• Employer is a person who pays one or more people
  to work for him.
• Worker or Employee is the person who works for
  pay or had previously worked for pay. For the
  purpose of this act this excludes certain members
  of the public service including the Garda
  Síochána.

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Purpose of Industrial Relations Act 1990

• This act aims to promote improved industrial
  relations by outlining procedures for conducting
  and settling industrial disputes..

This act protects all of us at work.
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Main provisions of the Industrial Relations Act
1990

• Procedures for the calling of industrial action
• Procedures for the conducting of pickets
• The establishment of the Labour Relations
  Commission
• Changes in how the Labour Court functioned

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What is Industrial Action?

• Any action taken by a group of employees to
  compel their employer to change their working
  conditions or implement the conditions already in
  place if this is not happening.
• Note this does not just mean going on strike, it
  can also be a work to rule, where the workers
  only do what is in their contract.

I work in the office
It is not in my contract that I do the drains
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What is a strike?

• This is a complete cessation of work by a group
  of employees done as a means of compelling their
  employer, to listen to their demands to change
  their working conditions.

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What is a trade dispute?

• Any dispute between employers and employees in
  connection with their employment or
  non-employment, or the terms and conditions
  affecting the employees.
• Examples of legitimate trade disputes are
  disputes over rates of pay, shift working,
  holidays, canteen facilities, recruitment
  policy,dismissal policy, redundancy policy or
  trade union recognition in the firm.
• Examples of illegitimate trade disputes are
  conflicts over religious or political issues
  among staff or disputes over managerial decisions
  of how the company is run, for example the credit
  policy of the firm.

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What does immunity mean?

• This means the workers cannot be sued for the
  lack of production during a strike, neither will
  they be sued for damage caused by their absence.

Workers cannot be sued, due to this chair being
damaged, as a result of lack of usage during the
strike.
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What is a trade union?

• This is an organisation that workers can join to
  help them look after their rights and speak with
  a collective voice.
• All trade unions must be registered with the
  Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and
  fulfil the requirements set by this minister
  before they can act as a trade union.

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What does this act say about strikes?

• All members that will be involved in the strike
  or industrial action are given notice of a
  forthcoming ballot.
• Members must be free to vote as they wish and how
  each member votes must be a secret.
• If the vote is in favour of industrial action,
  then the trade union must notify the Irish
  Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) of it's
  intentions and get their approval.
• If the trade union decides on a strike, it must
  then give notice of not less than 1 week to the
  employer concerned, of it's intention to engage
  in a strike.

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What is the difference in an official and
unofficial strike?

• If the procedures outlined in the last slide are
  followed before the strike starts, the strike is
  called an Official Strike and the employees have
  immunity against being sued for damage done by
  the strike or losses caused by it.
• A strike that does not follow all these
  procedures is called an Unofficial Strike and
  employees have no immunity.

Official Strike
Unofficial Strike
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Primary Picketing

• According to this act is the right of the
  employees to conduct a peaceful picket at their
  employer's business premises.
• The employees can be joined by a trade union
  official, that is someone paid by the union or
  any officer elected by the union.
• They can peacefully persuade other workers or
  customers not to enter their employee's premises,
  but cannot prevent them.

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Secondary Picketing

• If the striking workers see that work that would
  normally be carried out at their premises is
  being carried out elsewhere, thus reducing the
  impact of the strike, they can picket those
  premises. This is called Secondary Picketing.
• An example of this is, if the staff at Dublin
  airport were on strike and in order to reduce the
  impact of the strike, the airlines started to
  divert the passengers to Cork airport, the union
  could then place a secondary picket on Cork
  airport.

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Labour Relations Commission (LRC)

• It is the first port of call to settle any trade
  dispute.
• Its functions include the following
• Conciliation service
• Advisory Service (Codes of practice)
• Rights Commissioners
• Joint Labour Committees (JLC's)
• Joint Industrial Councils (JIC's)
• Research

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Conciliation

• This is where the two parties in a dispute are
  brought together and suggestions made, as to how
  the dispute can be settled.

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Rights Commissioner

• Appointed by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade
  and Employment from nominations made by the
  Labour Relations Commission.
• Aims to investigate and offer quick solutions to
  settle disputes, grievances and claims made by
  individuals or small groups of workers under
  different legislation.
• Including this act , the Unfair Dismissals Act
  1993, Adoptive Leave Act, 1995, Maternity
  Protection Act, 1994 and National Minimum Wage
  Act, 2000.
• Disputes involving large numbers of workers will
  not be heard by a Rights Commissioner. Hearings
  before a Rights Commissioner are normally heard
  in private.
• Appeals of decisions made by the Rights
  Commissioner under the Unfair Dismissals Act are
  then brought to the Employment Appeals Tribunal
  and those brought under other legislation are
  brought to the Labour Court.

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Joint Labour Committees (JLC's)

• The LRC provides officers to chair JLC's.
• These bodies examine conditions of employment,
  for example wages for certain categories of
  workers, who are not in trade unions.
• Examples of JLC's are in the hairdressing and the
  catering industries.
• Their recommendations are called Employment
  Regulation Orders (ERO's).

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Joint Industrial Councils (JIC's)

• The LRC provides officers to chair JIC's.
• These bodies seek to establish harmonious
  industrial relations in certain industries and
  outline procedures to be followed in those
  industries to solve disputes before a strike
  occurs

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Labour Court

• The Labour Court, while not a court of law,
  operates as an industrial relations tribunal,
  hearing both side of the dispute and issuing
  recommendations, which are not binding in most
  cases, but both parties are expected to give
  serious consideration to their content.

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Functions of the Labour Court

• Hears appeals from Rights Commissioners. These
  decisions are binding.
• Establishes Joint Labour Committees (JLC's). See
  Labour Relations Commission page for details of
  these.
• Registers Joint Industrial Councils. (JIC's). See
  Labour Relations Commission page for details of
  these.
• Registers and interprets employment agreements.
• Investigates complaints of breaches of employment
  agreements registered with them.
• Hears appeals of decisions made under the
  Employment Equality Act 1998 by an Employment
  Tribunal. These decisions are binding.

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Industrial Relations Act 1990
The end