TRADE UNION DESK Government must walk the walk on collective bargaining

Ireland stands almost alone among advanced modern economies by denying workers a statutory right to collective bargaining, writes Greg Ennis, Deputy General Secretary, SIPTU.

While our European partners enshrine collective bargaining as a cornerstone of fair workplaces and industrial relations, Ireland clings hard to a broken system wherein employers wield absolute power over whether to recognise or negotiate with their staff’s chosen representatives. This ‘veto’ is not only a structural flaw it has profound economic, social, and even environmental consequences and it must change.

Workers denied the right to organise in a trade union simply have one recourse, to run the gauntlet of industrial or strike action. This is not the foundation of a modern economy; it is a recipe for disaster. We need to level the playing field. Labour Court and National Contact Point (NCP) recommendations are systematically ignored as they are not legally enforceable, which is ironic when one considers that the NCP is a standalone unit within the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment.

The economic case for reform is rock solid. Ireland’s National Economic and Social Council (NESC) highlights how collective bargaining boosts productivity, innovation, and organisational performance. International studies reinforce this, unionised workplaces are between 14 and 24 per cent more productive, countries with strong bargaining rights lead in innovation, and each 1 per cent increase in union density delivers measurable efficiency gains.

German manufacturers, operating under robust collective agreements, outperform Irish counterparts by 23 per cent. Swedish firms with union deals show 18 per cent higher innovation rates. Far from hindering competitiveness, collective bargaining enhances it. In a time of tariffs and eastern economic winds, it can and should be a win-win situation for good employers, staff, and our economy at large.

Beyond economics, the social benefits are there for all to see. The International Labour Organization (ILO) confirms collective bargaining narrows Ireland’s 17.6 per cent private-sector gender pay gap.

It also yields substantial environmental dividend. A Canadian study found each 1 per cent rise in unionisation cuts emissions by 0.25 per cent, while OECD data links strong collective bargaining structures to long-term CO₂ reductions.

Unionised workplaces adopt cleaner technologies faster, aligning worker rights with climate goals. A genuine just transition. Opponents of reform often cite Ireland’s ‘flexible’ labour market or constitutional barriers, but these arguments crumble under any legitimate scrutiny.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission’s 2021 report found there is no legal obstacle to legislating collective bargaining right here, right now. European Court of Justice rulings affirm that EU states can mandate good-faith negotiations. Yet the Government sits on its hands. Worse than that, the Government reneged on its commitments to legislate for ‘Good Faith Engagement’ in 2023 and 2024 in line with the 2022 Doherty Report, which provided for same. Changing opinion polls may have had more to do with this than subsequent legal opinion, as it was legally sound in 2022.

“Collective bargaining delivers better wages, more innovation, and fairer workplaces without sacrificing competitiveness.”
Greg Ennis, Deputy General Secretary, SIPTU

The ‘voluntary’ system is equally misleading. Employers can bargain collectively through management structures they control, while workers are denied the same right through unions. This is not voluntarism; it is upstairs, downstairs, management’s way, or the highway. It is also a ‘do as I say and not as I do’ approach, wherein a high percentage (78 per cent) of employers utilise their own chosen representatives such as Ibec, SFA, ISME, and various other Associations.

Government speaking out of both sides of their mouths is frustrating SIPTU members. We have an active consultation on the EU Adequate Minimum Wage Directive at the moment, yet the Government continues to bend over backwards for companies flouting worker rights. That is not right. It is not fair. It is rank hypocrisy.

Take Stryker, a medical technology firm that received €38 million in IDA grants yet refuses to recognise SIPTU at its Carrigtwohill plant, defying Labour Court and NCP recommendations, even though it has a health and progressive relationship with SIPTU at its facilities in Limerick and Macroom.

Public money must come with proper conditions, including respect for fundamental rights and respect at work. If taxpayers are propping up businesses, those businesses must uphold basic standards of fairness. No assistance without conditions and public procurement contracts must also carry such conditionality.

As the Government prepares its Action Plan, the path forward is clear for SIPTU. Legislating for full and free collective bargaining rights would align Ireland with international norms, boost productivity, reduce inequality, and cost nothing to implement. It must involve trade union access for workers, protections for workers who wish to organise in a union, and a workers right to collectively bargain with their employer.

Simple reforms could achieve this, give unions negotiation rights and access to workers where they have majority support, tie public subsidies to compliance, and empower the Labour Court to enforce good-faith bargaining. The Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI) estimates these changes could raise wages by between eight and 12 per cent in non-unionised sectors while improving efficiency.

Ireland’s record on collective bargaining is no badge of honour, it is holding us all back. The reality is that countries that combine strong worker rights with flexible labour markets consistently outperform those that do not. The evidence is unequivocal: collective bargaining delivers better wages, more innovation, and fairer workplaces without sacrificing competitiveness.

The choice is not between worker rights and economic success, they can be two sides of the same coin. The Government’s Action Plan offers a chance to end decades of the employer veto and give workers a true and strong voice in the decisions that are shaping their lives and the lives of their families.

This is not just about fairness; it is about a move away from the low road and building a high-wage, high-productivity economy that works for all. Ireland can remain an outlier, a low wage Republic, or we can join with our European partners in fostering a worker-led economy with fairness at work and justice in society at its heart.

The economic, social, and environmental benefits are overdue and there for all to see. It is time for the Government to walk the walk on workers’ rights. Nothing less will do.