Important proposed amendments to the existing Industrial Relations legislation
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Industrial Relations (Provisions in Respect of Pension Entitlements of Retired Workers) Bill 2020
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Mar a tionscnaíodh As initiated –––––––––––
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Section
1. Definition
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Industrial Relations (Provisions in Respect of Pension Entitlements of Retired Workers) Bill 2020
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Mar a tionscnaíodh As initiated –––––––––––
CONTENTS
2. Amendment of section 8 of Act of 1990
3. Amendment of section 25 of Act of 1990
4. Amendment of section 26A of Act of 1990
5. Referral of trade disputes by retired workers representative associations
6. Amendment of section 42 of Act of 1990
7. Review of codes of practice
8. Amendment of section 3 of Industrial Relations Act 1946
9. Exemption in respect of certain retired workers representative associations from requirement to hold negotiating licence, etc.
10. Amendment of section 62 (selection by members of funded schemes of persons for appointment as trustees) of Pensions Act 1990
11. Short title, collective citation, construction and commencement
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Acts referred to
Industrial Relations Act 1946 (No. 26) Industrial Relations Act 1990 (No. 19) Pensions Act 1990 (No. 25)
Trade Union Act 1941 (No. 22)
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Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:
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Industrial Relations (Provisions in Respect of Pension Entitlements of Retired Workers) Bill 2020
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Mar a tionscnaíodh As initiated –––––––––––
BILL
entitled
An Act to amend and extend certain rights and protections of retired persons and certain representative associations in relation to industrial relations and trade disputes and for that purpose to amend the Trade Union Acts 1871 to 1990 and the Industrial Relations Acts 1946 to 2019, to make provision for enhanced representation of retired workers in relation to the administration of certain pension schemes, to amend the Pensions Act 1990 and to provide for related matters.
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Definition
1. In this Act “Act of 1990” means the Industrial Relations Act 1990.
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Amendment of section 8 of Act of 1990
2. Section 8 of the Act of 1990 is amended—
(a) in the definition of “trade dispute” by inserting “and includes any dispute between employers and retired workers relating to retired workers’ pension entitlements” after “of any person”, and
(b) in the definition of “strike” by substituting “employment;” for “employment.”, and by inserting the following definition after the definition of “strike”:
“ ‘retired worker’ means any person who is entitled to receive benefits under a relevant occupational pension scheme.”.
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Amendment of section 25 of Act of 1990
3. Section 25 of the Act of 1990 is amended in subsection (1)(c) by substituting “unions, employer organisations and, where appropriate, organisations representing retired persons” for “unions and employer organisations”.
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Amendment of section 26A of Act of 1990
4. Section 26A of the Act of 1990 is amended in subsection (1)—
(a) by substituting the following for paragraph (a):
“(a) the dispute was referred to the Commission for conciliation—
(i) within a period of 6 months from the date on which the worker’s employment ceased, or the date on which the event to which the dispute relates occurred, whichever is the earlier, or
(ii) in so far as a dispute or any issue in a dispute relates to the worker’s pension entitlements, but only in so far as such dispute or issue in a dispute relates to such entitlements, within a period of 6 months from the date on which the worker’s employment ceased, or the date on which the event to which the dispute relates occurred, whichever is the later,
or”, and
(b) in paragraph (b) by substituting “subparagraph (i) or (ii) of paragraph (a), as appropriate” for “paragraph (a)”.
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Referral of trade disputes by retired workers representative associations
5. The Act of 1990 is amended by inserting the following section after section 26A:
“26B.(1) This section applies in respect of any trade dispute relating to entitlements of retired workers under a relevant occupational pension scheme.
(2) For the purposes of any provision in the Industrial Relations Acts 1946 to 2020 that permits a trade union to refer a trade dispute to the Commission or the Court, the provision concerned shall be read as also permitting a retired workers representative association to refer a trade dispute to which this section applies and any references in those Acts to a trade union shall, where appropriate, be read accordingly.
(3) In this section—
‘retired worker’ has the meaning given to it in Part II;
‘retired workers representative association’ means an organisation to which an order under section 6A of the Trade Union Act 1941 applies.”.
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Amendment of section 42 of Act of 1990
6. Section 42 of the Act of 1990 is amended by inserting the following subsection after
subsection (2):
“(2A)Without prejudice to subsection (2), the Commission shall, where a draft Code relates to any matter which may affect the rights or interests of retired persons, seek and consider the views of such organisations that the Commission considers to be representative of retired persons before submitting the draft code to the Minister.”.
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Review of codes of practice
7. The Act of 1990 is amended by inserting the following section after section 42:
“42A.(1) The Commission shall not later than 3 months after the coming into operation of the Industrial Relations (Provisions in Respect of Pension Entitlements of Retired Workers) Act 2020, commence a review into each code of practice that, on the date of the coming into operation of that Act, is declared to be a code of practice for the purposes of this Act.
(2) A review under subsection (1) shall—
(a) identify each code of practice that, in the Commission’s opinion, relates to any matter that affects the rights and interests of retired persons, and
(b) consider the effectiveness of each code of practice referred to in paragraph (a) in protecting the rights and interests of retired persons.
(3) For the purpose of subsection (2), the Commission shall seek and consider the views of such organisations that the Commission considers to be representative of retired persons.
(4) Not later than 6 months after the commencement of a review under subsection (1) the Commission shall—
(a) prepare and submit to the Minister a report of the findings made on foot of the review and details on any amendments to a code of practice which it recommends on foot of the review,
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(b) publish a copy of the report on its website, and
(c) cause a copy of the report published under paragraph (b) to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.”.
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Amendment of section 3 of Industrial Relations Act 1946
8. Section 3 of the Industrial Relations Act 1946 is amended in the definition of “trade dispute” by inserting “, including any dispute or difference relating to a person’s pension entitlements that arises after the person’s employment has ceased,” after “any such dispute or difference”.
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Exemption in respect of certain retired workers representative associations from requirement to hold negotiating licence, etc.
9. The Trade Union Act 1941 is amended—
(a) in section 6(3) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (a):
“(aa) an organisation in respect of whom an order under section 6A is for the time being in force,”,
and
(b) by inserting the following section after section 6:
“Exemption in respect of certain retired workers representative associations from requirement to hold negotiating licence
6A. (1)
This section applies in respect of any organisation whose membership consists wholly or mainly of retired workers.
(2) An organisation to which this section applies may apply to the Minister exempting it from the requirements of section 6(1) to the extent provided for in subsection (5) of this section.
(3) An application for an exemption under this section shall—
(a) be made in the prescribed form,
(b) contain the prescribed particulars,
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(c) be accompanied by the prescribed documents, and
(d) be accompanied by the prescribed fee, if any.
(4) Upon receipt of an application, the Minister shall make an order under this section if the Minister is satisfied that—
(a) the organisation concerned is an organisation to which this section applies, and
(b) the organisation has as one of its purposes the representation of retired workers on matters relating to entitlements of such workers under relevant occupational pension schemes.
(5) Notwithstanding section 6(1), an organisation in respect of which an order under subsection (4) of this section is made may carry on negotiations on any matter relating to entitlements of retired workers under a relevant occupational pension scheme.
(6) Upon making an order under this section, the Minister shall as soon as is practicable cause a copy of the order to be published in Iris Oifigiúil.
(7) In this section ‘retired worker’ has the meaning given to it in Part II of the Industrial Relations Act 1990.”.
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Amendment of section 62 (selection by members of funded schemes of persons for appointment as trustees) of Pensions Act 1990
10. Section 62 of the Pensions Act 1990 is amended by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2):
“(2A)(a) This subsection applies to any matter to which regulations under subsection (1) relates—
(i) concerning the selection of 2 or more persons for appointment or retention as trustees by members of a scheme, and
(ii) in respect of which one or more pensioner members are duly nominated as candidates for selection.
(b) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b), regulations under subsection (1) shall specify the following matters in relation to a matter to which this subsection applies:
(i) not less than one person selected for appointment or retention as a trustee or trustees by members shall be a pensioner member;
(ii) the requirement referred to in subparagraph (i) shall be without prejudice to the right of members to select more than one pensioner member for appointment or retention as a trustee.
(c) In this subsection ‘pensioner member’, in relation to a scheme, means a member of the scheme who is in receipt of benefits under the scheme.”.
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Short title, collective citation, construction and commencement
11. (1)
This Act may be cited as the Industrial Relations (Provisions in Respect of Pension Entitlements of Retired Workers) Act 2020.
(2) This subsection, sections 2 and 9 and the Trade Union Acts 1871 to 1990 may be cited together as the Trade Union Acts 1871 to 2020 and shall be construed together as one.
(3) This subsection, sections 3 to 8 and the Industrial Relations Acts 1946 to 2019 may be cited together as the Industrial Relations Acts 1946 to 2020.
(4) This subsection, section 10 and the Pensions Acts 1990 to 2018 may be cited together as the Pensions Acts 1990 to 2020 and shall be construed together as one.
(5) This Act comes into operation 3 months after the date of its passing or on such earlier date than the said 3 months as the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation may by order appoint.
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