I never imagined that I, as a first-time TD, would still need to speak about workers’ rights, rates of pay and fairness in employment. The phrase, “a decent day’s pay for an honest day’s work”, should have been long retired before 2026. This debate, which should not even be a debate, has been around since before I was born and before my parents and grandparents were born. The points being raised here are the same points raised for decades, with just a few modern adjustments, such as the right to remote work. However, we have to remember who has been in Government all that time. It is crazy to think that the Government parties have commemorated the 1913 Dublin Lockout and lauded the bravery of the workers taking on the big businesses, but 113 years later, it is still denying the workers trade union rights. This is why this motion has been brought in co-ordination with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, reflecting Sinn Féin’s ongoing engagement with the trade union movement and as part of Sinn Féin’s broader campaign to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and to strengthen workers’ rights and collective bargaining. There are a lot of jobs, but one in four jobs is low paid, insecure or lacking in decent conditions. The fear these workers have - and I ask the Minister to get it into his head that they are workers - is not a feeling that anyone in this State should be experiencing in this supposedly wealthy country in 2026. It is easy to have a budget surplus if money is not spent adequately and efficiently to resolve the problems in the country. Workers deserve fair pay, secure jobs and a stronger voice in the workplace. I doubt that even the do-nothing Government’s spokespeople could have a counter-argument for that point. To support workers to organise and facilitate greater trade union membership, Sinn Féin and the trade unions are calling on the Government to provide a legal right to collective bargaining through a union and to introduce a right for trade unions to access workplaces. The countermotion is an absolute insult to every worker right around this nation and I urge the Minister to listen to the contributions tonight, reflect on them and withdraw it.

Sentiment score: 0.03