EU failing on collective bargaining, says Ó Ríordáin

A European Court of Justice ruling that called for an EU-wide scrapping of a minimum wage directive has irked Labour MEP Aodhán Ó Ríordáin.

The Labour MEP has called for “immediate action” from the European Commission to deliver collective bargaining rights for Irish and European workers.

Ó Ríordáin is the sole Irish MEP that sits with the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament, regarded as the home for parties of Labour’s ilk.

He said that he and his bloc would put pressure on the EU to reverse the decision.

“I fundamentally disagree with the decision of the European Court of Justice advocate general’s ruling that the EU Adequate Minimum Wage directive is “incompatible” with the EU treaties.”

“The principles of social cohesion, workers rights and protections for citizens are cornerstones of our EU values – and they must be defended,” he said.

“Alongside colleagues from the S&D Group, I will be calling on the Commission to urgently act to ensure the hard-fought protections delivered for workers in this directive are not abandoned. I’m calling for an urgent discussion on this subject in the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, of which I am the sole Irish full member.”

He noted that the Irish government had until November to implement the EU minimum wage directive into Irish law, but failed to do so.

Ó Ríordáin stated that the legislation not being enacted has real-world ramifications for the average Irish worker.

“One in five workers in Ireland are employed in low-paying jobs, a statistic that has remained unchanged for the past 20 years. Women are disproportionately represented in these roles, highlighting the undervaluation of care-related work.

“Ireland ranks among the lowest in Europe for collective bargaining coverage. Only about 40% of workers are covered by such agreements, significantly below the EU average and far short of the 80% threshold set in the directive. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence of employers actively obstructing trade unions from organising and supporting their members.”

“I am calling on the new Irish government to proceed with the implementation of the content of this directive. Irish and European workers deserve a better deal,” he said.