THE GOVERNMENT has agreed to changes in the rules governing pay for Sunday working which will affect people employed in hotels, restaurants and shops.
The Government also made important decisions yesterday on the future of Fás and the establishment of a new education and training authority. Details will be announced this morning by Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn.
On the issue of weekend working, the current Joint Labour Committee mechanism for setting pay rates was found to be unconstitutional in a High Court ruling at the beginning of the month. The issue had been a bone of contention between Minister for Enterprise and Employment Richard Bruton and his Labour Party Cabinet colleagues.
Back in May Mr Bruton proposed an overhaul of the sectoral wage agreements affecting the weekend working conditions of about 200,000 people.
The system had been identified in the EU-IMF programme as a barrier to job creation, and its abolition was factored into the deal.
The trade union movement had expressed strong opposition to the changes being proposed by Mr Bruton, but the employers’ body Ibec argued they were necessary for job creation.
On taking office Mr Bruton pledged radical reform in the area and developed proposals designed to restrict overtime payments for weekend working.
The loss of the legal entitlement to overtime for Sunday working was the most controversial of the Minister’s proposals.
After consultation with his Cabinet colleagues as well as trade unions and employers, Mr Bruton modified his original proposals.
The High Court decision then intervened and he reformulated his proposals, which he brought to Cabinet for approval yesterday.
A Government spokesman said last night the Cabinet had reached agreement on a proposal and it would be published either today or tomorrow.
