Debate contribution: Workers' Rights

Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on 12 March 2024.

MLA

Dr Caoimhe Archibald

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

12 March 2024

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Workers' Rights

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4266978

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I welcome the opportunity to speak today on behalf of my Executive and party colleague Conor Murphy during this important debate. I thank the Members who spoke about the importance of protecting workers' rights. I have noted comments from across the Chamber about valuing workers and ensuring that rights are enhanced and enshrined. Members will be aware that Minister Murphy has already demonstrated the importance that he places on protecting workers' rights. When he outlined his economic vision to the Assembly in February, he articulated that increasing the proportion of working-age people in good jobs is one of his key objectives. New legislation to enhance workers' rights will be a key component of delivering that objective. Minister Murphy has instructed his officials to develop policy options for consideration as part of a wide-ranging good jobs Bill. New employment legislation will be brought forward in this mandate. The motion provides a timely opportunity to hear from Members about the issues that are important to them and about those that they would like to see addressed in the good jobs Bill. Minister Murphy is keen to work with Members from across the Chamber on many of those issues as work on the Bill progresses. Addressing insecure work and precarious working arrangements is a priority for the Minister. It is clear from the debate that many in the Chamber also recognise the need to challenge many of the problematic practices that are referred to in the motion. Exploitative practices that are inherently unfair to workers need to be stopped. The fact that certain practices may mutually suit some workers and businesses does not diminish our responsibility to improve the system for the many who do not benefit from it. Far too often, the flexibility that is on offer in those contracts leaves workers trapped in the types of precarious employment that have been described today. We want to address the unfairness associated with flexibility that is weighted too heavily in favour of the employer. Many workers, particularly women and younger workers, find themselves on those types of insecure contracts unwillingly. Minister Murphy clearly stated in his economic vision that he wants to tackle zero-hours contracts and to replace them with contracts that provide flexibility and protect workers' rights. We must challenge bad practice, but encouraging good practice is an equally important approach to achieving the good jobs objective. Workers who are better able to balance their working life around their personal, family and caring commitments are happier and more productive, and they are more likely to remain in or re-enter the workforce, which benefits their employer and the wider economy. Flexibility that enables a good work-life balance can be beneficial to businesses by helping them to recruit and retain good employees. It also enables businesses to draw on a more diverse workforce by making work more accessible to everyone. Stakeholder engagement is key to that process. That will take time. It is simply not possible that effective primary legislation will be drafted, consulted on and ready to be introduced to the Assembly in this calendar year. That is not to say that there are no improvements that the Minister can make more quickly through secondary legislation or non-legislative measures, and, once he has consulted, that is part of what he plans to do. I want to pick up on a few points made by the Chair of the Economy Committee on supporting businesses. Good employment practices and employment charters can help to improve working lives and have been proven to be good for business. The Labour Relations Agency has an important role to play in encouraging and promoting best practice, and we support the work that it is doing in that area. In the previous mandate, a couple of specific pieces of legislation were passed in which I, as Chair of the Economy Committee at the time, took particular interest. In relation to the Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave) Act 2022, the Minister plans to progress vital employment protections, including the positive legislative reforms that were passed in the previous mandate. Minister Murphy will consult on the detail of the introduction of paid safe leave for victims of domestic abuse. He has also asked officials to prepare regulations to extend the right of parental bereavement leave and pay to parents who, sadly, experience miscarriage up to the end of the twenty-third week of pregnancy and to make both the parental bereavement leave rights and miscarriage leave rights available from the first day of employment. Gender pay gap legislation was mentioned by Philip Brett and Sorcha Eastwood. That is a matter for the Minister for Communities, but, obviously, it needs to be progressed as well. Towards the end of the debate, Mr Dickson commented on the right to strike. I am speaking on my own behalf, obviously, but I believe that it is a fundamental right of workers. In conclusion, the Minister supports the motion and has confirmed his plan to bring forward a good jobs Bill. He has clearly stated his intention to replace zero-hours contracts with contracts that provide flexibility and enhanced workers' rights. The Minister will also look at ways of strengthening the role of trade unions. A wide range of other issues needs to be addressed, such as support for working families, access to flexible working, creating better working conditions and enhancing the rights of workers in more insecure forms of employment. It is quite a task ahead and will be, no doubt, a real challenge. Only with the cooperation of all colleagues in the Assembly and working effectively with the Economy Committee will Minister Murphy turn that vision into reality.

940 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 09:47 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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