Stop union busting in Ireland now
Two recent studies have shown the scale and extent of union busting in the Republic of Ireland. The next government must strengthen legal protection for trade unionists.
The Republic of Ireland held its general elections last week Friday, 29 November 2024. But no matter the final results and coalition talks, the next Irish government will face an urgent task: stopping union busting.
In April 2024, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) carried out an online survey among more than 150 union officials, most of them primarily engaged in collective bargaining and industrial relations. The aim of the survey was to gather information about their experiences with barriers to their efforts at organising, bargaining or representing.
The survey not only showed that it has become increasingly difficult to secure union recognition, especially in the private sector, but also highlighted employer’s wide arsenal of tactics and actions against unions. It distinguishes between four categories of employer’s anti-union tactics:
- “Awkward stuff”: 95 per cent of union officials stated that employers delayed or stonewalled responding to unions. Preventing physical access and restricting interactions with employees seem to be common as well.
- “Sweet stuff”: Around 80 per cent of union officials evoked employers’ efforts to reduce union demands through pay and work conditions improvement or the establishment of alternative forums to unions.
- “Fear stuff”: 92 per cent of union officials reported victimisation of union member and activists, followed by the recourse to management consultants to avoid unions and the monitoring of employee communications. 63 per cent of union officials mentioned employers threatening closures or relocations.
- “Evil stuff”: 88 per cent of union officials reported workers being briefed against the union by line management.
Fear about actual or perceived reprisals also constitute a common barrier to organising, bargaining and representing. The long-established fear tactics – such as the isolation of union activists, the reduction of promotional prospects or poor performance ratings – have been complemented by newer forms of employer’s power and control over union representatives, such as control over working hours or working arrangements like remote working).
Irish workers deserve respect at work
Another damning report launched by the Respect at Work campaign exposes the scale and human cost of union busting activity across Ireland. The research, carried out with the support of academics from Queen’s University, Belfast, interviewed 159 workplace representatives from the four unions and UNI members that make up the campaign: SIPTU, the Financial Services Union, the Communications Workers’ Union and Mandate.
“Our priority is making collective bargaining in the general election. Have we succeeded? Yes!”
As over 250 candidates in Ireland’s election today have pledged to improve workers’ & union rights, @EthelBuckley summarises the massive success of @respectatworkie. pic.twitter.com/2vfXZtVLaQ
— UNI Europa (@UNI_Europa) November 29, 2024
The report found that 69 per cent of workplace representatives have observed at least one form of anti-union behaviour by employers, with the most common being victimisation of union activists (42 per cent) and discouraging workers from joining a union (40 per cent). Its findings also reveal the harmful impact of employer hostility to unions, with 43 per cent of respondents saying it had negatively affected their mental and physical health.
Sharon Gill, a 999 call centre worker who was subject to victimisation when she attempted to unionise her workplace, said the survey showed that union busting is “rampant” across the country. “As a 999 call centre worker, I tried to organise for the terms and conditions my colleagues deserved. It’s a disgrace that we had to speak in hushed tones in dark corridors about unions, but that’s the reality in Ireland today,” she said.
Oliver Roethig, UNI Europa Regional Secretary, said: “This damning research suggests that the next Irish government urgently needs to end union busting and strengthen legislative routes to unionisation. As the cross-union Respect at Work campaign has demanded, these should promote collective bargaining, protects workplace representatives and ensures the right to access a trade union at work. We expect the next government to take active steps in that direction by drafting national action plans to reach 80 per cent collective bargaining coverage as mandated by the EU’s Minimum Wage Directive.”
