Responding to the passing of the Work-Life Balance Bill by both Houses of the Oireachtas, Irish Congress of Trade Unions general secretary Owen Reidy said: “This important legislation delivers a suite of measures to make it easier for workers to combine their professional and personal lives.
“Improved family leave and flexibility on when and how we work is good for workers and families. It is good for businesses that get to retain valuable and often highly-trained staff. It is good for society and for the economy too. It will help close the gender gaps in caring, pay, and pensions. It is a win-win.
“As well as legislating improvements to support working parents and carers balance paid work with family care, necessitated to give effect to EU law, the Bill also introduces a new workers’ right to paid leave for victims of domestic violence and new rights for workers requesting remote work, both of which ICTU and affiliated unions campaigned for to bring us to this point today.”
Mr. Reidy said: “Ireland is leading the way in bringing in paid leave for workers who are victims of domestic violence. However, if this new law is to do what is intended, workers must be paid their full wages during absences. Anything less risks putting them in further danger. It is disappointing that the leave is for only 5 days. Unions will continue to collectively bargain workplace agreements – all of which provide for 10 days paid leave.
“Our cross-union ‘Make Remote Work!’ campaigning group welcomes the Government delivering on its commitment to a new workers’ right to request remote work, after a previous false dawn. Our campaign to win full flexibility for all workers continues.”
