REAs are back on the agenda. As many employers are no doubt aware, Registered Employment Agreements (REAs) were deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in May 2013 on the grounds that they undermined Article 15 of the Irish Constitution (for a full breakdown of the Supreme Court decision click here - http://bit.ly/1l0M4y9). However, it is important for employers who were previously governed by REAs to be aware that new legislation is expected to be tabled at Cabinet in the coming weeks to return REAs to the Irish employment sphere.
What are REAs?
REAs are effectively a collective agreement which has been registered with the Labour Court. These agreements would be negotiated by employers with employee representative bodies and in doing so would have provided preferential terms and conditions for employees who came under the terms of the agreement. On the main, REAs were negotiated with individual employers and registered as such. However, when these REAs were negotiated with industry employer bodies it was deemed that the REA applied to the entire industry, with notable examples being the construction and electrical contracting industries.
REAs: Pros and Cons
For some employers, these agreements were mutually beneficial: all employees were on standardised terms which made planning the business financially and lobbying for tenders far more clear cut. Employees benefitted as they received terms and conditions over and above the statutory minimums. However, other employers found these REAs to be burdensome as they had to provide preferential terms and in some circumstances, especially amongst skilled roles, these terms could be very high. Employees would also be in circumstances where the prospect of increasing their terms further were largely prohibited where they had already hit the ceiling rates under the REA.
Back on the Agenda
After the REAs were ruled unconstitutional, Minister Richard Bruton promised to keep them on the agenda and to look into curing these constitutional difficulties. Minister Bruton has reiterated this promise this month, stating that he intends to bring a new legislative Bill to Government in the coming weeks.
The Impact
The Supreme Court decision deeming REAs unconstitutional only affected REAs that were created in line with the 1946 Industrial Relations Act. Thus, if new legislation is passed it does not mean that previous REAs will come back into force as they have already been deemed uncosntituional. What it will mean is that there will be a body of legislation in place which satisfies the Irish Constitution and under which employers and employee bodies may again create new collective agreements and have them registered. As such, any new REA will need to be renegotiated before it can come into force.
Conclusion
The reintroduction of the redesigned Registered Employment Agreement will now mean that the minimum terms and conditions of employment may once again set at an industry level. Employers and employee groups may negotiate at an industry level, and agreements binding to by all parties. This is indicative of the Government led push towards the reintroduction of industry led bargaining as was the case throughout the Celtic Tiger era.
