Tipping the Scales for Labour in Ireland? Collective Bargaining and the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015

Trade union density in Ireland has followed a similar pattern of decline to that of other Anglo-Saxon economies in recent decades. However, two factors make Ireland distinctive within this classification of countries, firstly the system of national social partnership that prevailed from 1987 to 2008, and secondly, the absence of a statutory route to union recognition. In this paper, we examine the extent to which a new piece of legislation, the Industrial Relations Amendment Act 2015, provides unions with a route to securing bargaining rights for workers and extends collective bargaining rights generally. We conclude that the Act represents a missed opportunity to offer mechanisms to secure rights for unions and their members capable of delivering collective bargaining to the non-union sector. We situate the paper within debates concerning the role of labour law in supporting workers rights to collective bargaining.