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Ireland has launched its Action Plan to Promote Collective Bargaining 2026-2030. This reaffirms its commitment to voluntarism, favouring encouragement, guidance and financial incentives over legal mandates.
On 5 November, the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment launched Ireland's Action Plan to Promote Collective Bargaining 2026 – 2030. This is intended to meet the government's obligations under Article 4 of the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages.
Developed with the social partners, the Action Plan sets out government strategy to promote collective bargaining over the rest of the decade. It largely avoids changes to primary legislation or shifting away from Ireland's voluntarist approach to industrial relations. Instead, it focuses on persuasion, capacity-building, and financial incentives.
Voluntarism: still the order of the day
The most important takeaway is that Ireland's voluntarist tradition of industrial relations is not going anywhere. Employers in Ireland still can't be forced to recognise a trade union for collective bargaining purposes. The government views this voluntarist tradition as key to Ireland's economic success, so it is not surprising that no major changes are proposed.
In line with this, two of the more controversial proposals put forward for consultation have been rejected:
- First, there will be no mandatory engagement with Joint Labour Committees (JLCs) in the form of a "chamber" system of collective bargaining. The Action Plan does recognise that JLCs (and the Employment Regulation Orders that they issue) help to tackle inequality, and commits to examining their role in government-funded sectors. However, private sector employers will continue to have the power to choose whether or not they engage with a JLC.
- Secondly, and crucially, the Action Plan does not include (or
mention) the "good faith engagement" process proposed by
the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) in its 2022 report on
this topic. This process would have required a mandatory, formal
and structured meeting between an employer's management and a
trade union, marking a sharp departure from Ireland's
voluntarist system. Employers that are opposed to unionisation are
likely to welcome the continued ability to maintain a policy of
non-recognition.
The only potential weakness in the government's commitment to voluntarism lies in its ambiguous pledge to "review and strengthen" Employment Regulation Orders and Sectoral Employment Orders and their enforcement. However, any resulting changes are unlikely to introduce significant coercive or mandatory elements (beyond those already characteristic of Sectoral Employment Orders).
Access to workplaces and mandatory mediation
The Action Plan commits the government to engaging with the social partners on digital and physical access to workplaces by unions, subject to agreed criteria, with a view to reaching an agreement by Q1 2028. This is surprising given the level of opposition by employer representatives during consultation.
The Code of Practice on the Duties and Responsibilities of Employee Representatives already sets out guidelines for reasonable access to workplaces where a union is recognised, and this is scheduled for review. It appears that the proposed agreement on access could extend to situations where a union is not formally recognised. However, this remains subject to further consultation with the social partners, and the Action Plan does not commit to any specific measures.
The Action Plan also commits to assessing the feasibility of implementing a mandatory mediation process between the notification of industrial action and the action itself. While the aim is to reduce days lost to industrial action, this proposal may not be welcomed by employers who maintain a strict policy of non-engagement with trade unions. The proposal will be considered from Q2 2026, with a view to implementation (if feasible) by Q4 2028.
Other key takeaways from the Action Plan
The majority of the other proposals are much "softer" measures, focusing on incentives to promote collective bargaining and address the decline in union membership through capacity-building, institutional improvements, updated Codes of Practice and other miscellaneous measures.
Financial incentives
Many unionised employers will remember that, between 2001 and 2010, trade union subscription payments were eligible for tax relief. The Action Plan proposes engaging with the Department of Finance to explore re-introducing this relief. However, based on the proposed timelines, it is unlikely to be reinstated before Budget 2028.
The Action Plan also commits to exploring the use of "alternative tax options" to promote collective bargaining by Q3 2029, but there is no further detail on this.
Capacity-building and institutional improvements
The Action Plan commits to strengthening the capabilities of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and the Labour Court. This includes government investment in the digitalisation and modernisation of the WRC and Labour Court, with a focus on reducing WRC processing times. It also supports the establishment of rules governing the use of technical assessors in Labour Court dispute resolution by Q4 2026.
Codes of Practice and miscellaneous measures
A new Code of Best Practice on Collective Bargaining will be published, in partnership with the social partners. The government views this as a more helpful way to achieve the overall objective of the Action Plan than the more controversial proposals (mentioned above) which would have impacted the principle of voluntarism. The existing Codes of Practice on the duties and responsibilities of employee representatives, and on grievance and disciplinary procedures, will also be reviewed.
The Unfair Dismissals Acts were already scheduled for review in the 2025/26 session of the Employment Law Review Group, and trade union protections will now be added to that agenda. The government has also committed to taking cautious initial steps towards including collectively bargained agreements as a weighting factor in public procurement, subject to various assessments, with a pilot scheme expected to conclude by Q3 2029.
Finally, the Action Plan places strong emphasis on research, data collection, monitoring and awareness-raising, all measures which align well with the objectives of Article 4 of the Directive.
What can employers do now?
Whilst most of the proposed changes are relatively minor and will not emerge until next year (or later), the Action Plan offers a timely opportunity for non-unionised employers to reflect on their current position with regard to trade unions, particularly in light of Ireland's continued commitment to voluntarism.
Employers should also consider conducting a broader review of any employee representative groups and their effectiveness – not only for statutory consultation requirements, such as in collective redundancy situations, but also as meaningful forums for employee engagement and for identifying and addressing employee concerns at an early stage.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
