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Further Cooperation between Sinn Fein and Labour
Read more about: Economy, Fianna Fail, Government, Social Policy
On a Private Members Bill in the Dail tomorrow, Sinn Fein and Labour will jointly propose enshrining rights for agency workers into law. The bill itself is most worthwhile, agency workers are often the last to benefit from employment rights as their netherland status allows for ‘flexibility’.
The Sinn Féin/Labour motion says that without legislation which ensures that agency workers are subject to the same terms as directly-employed workers “employers will always be tempted to cut corners on terms and conditions and casualisation, and exploitation will take hold”.
The motion calls on the Government “to immediately introduce legislation to protect the equal rights of agency workers, compared to their permanent counterparts, whereby employment agency workers would be subject to a collective agreement specifying terms and conditions of employment”.It says such legislation should specify a maximum period beyond which the worker must become a direct employee.
This raises two interesting points in regard to politics and partnership.
The first is an obvious observation that the relations between Labour and Sinn Fein continue to improve following the vote pact negotiated for the Seanad Vote. Institutional logic, I said at the time, does matter and that pact fundamentally altered that logic. The question of how close these two parties get is a moot point at present. What is very interesting is that it is happening at all and where it might lead in the future.
Secondly, this bill is a test of government with regard to partnership. Unions have made the rights of workers, especially agency workers, a central aspect of their negotiating position heading into the pay talks. Government are not expected to support this bill but will have to bring about some compromise bill, mentioned in the Irish Times article, if they are to maintain their course with the unions in negotiations. The value of putting agency workers on parity is not only for the sake of equality and an ability for unions to prove that they are effective for private sector workers too, it will have an impact on the state sector. The HSE has become reliant on agency staff while hiring is ‘frozen’. Moving on this issue will place further demands on government to get a coherent staffing policy in place before too long.
This is an important development for a number of reasons. First, the deepening level of cooperation between the two parties shows a maturing of progressive politics and will hopefully lead to future initiatives around which all strands of the Left can unite. Second, the issue itself puts Labour in a closer relationship with the trade unions, in particular, its affiliated members. What little talk there was immediately after the last election - about Labour breaking with the unions - has all but gone from the agenda. Third, it puts some distance between the progressive parties and the main right-wing opposition party, Fine Gael. It will be interesting to see how they jump on this one. They may end up supporting Labour/Sinn Fein (after all, there are only three or four countries in the EU that don’t have some form of protection for agency workers - so it’s not all that revolutionary)but, given the employers’ outright opposition, Fine Gael will be uncomfortable trailing after the progressive parties. In short, this intiative could change the dynamic between and within parties in a way that would not have been possible 12 months ago.
Leo Varadkar’s recent run in with labour indicates that both sides of the mullingar accord are going back to ideological basics. Reflects the weakening of the economy and the recognition that a shift is needed in strategy if the FFers are to be ousted from govt. Certainly good for both parties as Labour have been rudderless over the last few years and they need to pursue a new path rather than as the left wing adjunct of FF or FG.