Supreme Court Declares REA System Unconditional

The National Electrical Contractors Ireland (NECI) has welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court, which has today declared the Registered Employment Agreement (REA) system unconstitutional.

The system allowed groups of employers and trade unions to make agreements, which when registered by the Labour Court became the law and were legally binding on an entire industry or sector. Persons found in breach of the terms of the agreement were liable to criminal sanctions. Section 15 of the constitution clearly states that the "sole and exclusive power of making laws for the state is vested in the Oireachtas".

A statement by the NECI said:"Like the ERO (Employment Regulation Order) system which was declared unconstitutional in 2011 all current Registered Agreements are now cancelled. The agreement which was legally binding on all of Ireland's Electrical Contractors is now defunct. NECI would expect that after a short period of natural re-balancing the Industry will continue to operate as normal but in a more cost effective manner. We also ask that the inevitable scaremongering by the TEEU, who will claim that the Industry will descend into chaos, be ignored.

"NECI expect that there will be groups who will attempt to introduce a new agreement into our Industry and we will ensure that never again will unrepresentative parties be allowed to dictate to the majority. NECI welcome the fact that the unwarranted attacks by the TEEU, on employers in the electrical contracting industry will now cease. NECI will now proceed to find out why the Labour Court facilitated the TEEU and proceeded to put electrical contractors to the expense of defending themselves under the terms of the REA system, when the compatibility of that system with the constitution was being examined by the Supreme Court. All of these cases should have been put on hold until after the decision of the Supreme Court.

"We expect that many jobs will now be secured in the electrical contracting Industry because employers and their employees can now agree long term viable pay and conditions for their particular market. Electrical Contractors are now like all other sectors, in control of their own cost-base and this alone will allow them to secure existing jobs and create new ones."

(CD)