S.I. NO. 514 OF 2006

EMPLOYMENT REGULATION ORDER (SHIRTMAKING JOINT LABOUR COMMITTEE), 2006

WHEREAS the Labour Court (hereinafter called -�the Court-�), pursuant to the provisions of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1946-2004, made an Employment Regulation Order dated 5th October, 2006 ( S.I. No. 514 of 2006 ) (hereinafter called -�the said Order-�) fixing the statutory minimum rates of remuneration and regulating the statutory conditions of employment of workers in relation to whom the Shirtmaking Joint Labour Committee (hereinafter called -�the Committee-�) operates;

AND WHEREAS the Committee has submitted to the Court a proposal for revoking the said Order;

AND WHEREAS the Committee has also submitted to the Court the proposals set out in the Schedule hereto for fixing the statutory minimum rates of remuneration and regulating the statutory conditions of employment of workers in relation to whom the Committee operates;

AND WHEREAS the provisions of Section 48 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990 have been complied with;

NOW, THEREFORE, the Court, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Section 43(4) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 , and by Section 48(4) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990 hereby Orders as follows:-

(1)       This Order may be cited as the Employment Regulation Order (Shirtmaking Joint Labour Committee), 2006.

(2)       Effect is hereby given to the proposals set out in the Schedule hereto.

(3)       The provisions set out in the Schedule hereto shall have effect as from 10th October, 2006 and as from that date the said Order shall be revoked.

SCHEDULE

PART I

SHIRTMAKING AND TIEMAKING

GENERAL MINIMUM TIME-RATES AND PIECE-WORK BASIS TIME-RATES FOR WORKERS EMPLOYED IN THE JOB CLASSES REPRESENTED BELOW, OR IN JOBS EQUAL IN SKILL, EFFORT AND RESPONSIBILITY TO JOBS REPRESENTED BELOW, SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE EMPLOYMENT EQUALITY ACT, 1998.

SECTION I:-

GENERAL MINIMUM TIME-RATE

On completion of three years' learnership, full general minimum time rate for Job Class 2

SECTION II - PIECE WORK BASIS TIME-RATE FOR CUTTERS

Note

This ERO takes account of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000 and the reckonable components listed in Part 1 of the Schedule thereto. Employers may, in certain circumstances, seek concessions in order to meet the costs of the additional increases.

SECTION III - PIECE-WORK BASIS TIME-RATE FOR ALL WORKERS

Workers (including learners as defined in Part VI), when employed on piece-work for which no General Minimum Piece-Rate has been fixed by the Committee, shall be paid for each operation on which so employed a piece-rate not less than that which would yield in the circumstances of the case to an ordinary worker at least the equivalent of the rate applicable to the relevant Job Class.

PART II

GENERAL MINIMUM PIECE-RATE FOR HOME-WORKERS

(a)      SHIRTMAKING rates shall be general minimum rates plus 50%.

(b)      TIEMAKING rates shall be

PART III

SECTION 1 - NORMAL WORKING HOURS

The normal number of hours to be worked by full time workers in relation to whom the Committee operates shall be 39 hours per week. In relation to workers under the age of 18, the provisions of the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act, 1996 shall apply.

SECTION II - OVERTIME RATES AND STATUTORY HOLIDAYS

(a)     Overtime worked on any day with the exception of Sundays, public holidays and time worked prior to normal starting time on Monday, shall be paid for at the rate of one and a half times the minimum rate otherwise applicable i.e. time-and-a-half for the first four hours on any day, and twice the minimum rate otherwise applicable i.e. double time thereafter.

(b)     Overtime worked on Sundays and prior to normal starting time on Monday shall be paid for at the rate of twice the minimum rate otherwise applicable i.e. double time.

(c)     Overtime worked on statutory public holidays shall be paid for at the rate of twice the minimum rate otherwise applicable i.e. double time plus a day off in lieu with pay.

PART IV

ANNUAL LEAVE

All employees are entitled to paid annual leave in accordance with the provisions of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 .

PART V

WORKERS IN RELATION TO WHOM THE COMMITTEE OPERATES

The minimum rates of remuneration and conditions of employment set out in this Order shall apply subject to the provisions of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1946 - 2004 and of this Order, to all workers in respect of any time during which they are employed in those branches of the Trade which are specified in the Trade Boards (Shirtmaking) Order, 1920, that is to say:

(1)     The making from textile fabrics of shirts, collars, cuffs, pyjamas, aprons, chefs' caps, hospital ward caps and other washable clothing worn by male persons;

(2)     The making of women's collars and cuffs and of nurses' washing belts where carried on in association with, or in conjunction with, the making of the before-mentioned articles;

(3)     The making of neckties worn by male persons, and of neckties worn by female persons where made in association with, or in conjunction with, the making of neckties worn by male persons;

including:-

laundering, smoothing, folding, ornamenting, boxing, packing, warehousing, and all other operations incidental to, or appertaining to, the making of any of the above mentioned articles.

But excluding:-

(1)     The making of articles which are knitted or are made from knitted fabrics;

(2)     The making of handkerchiefs, mufflers, gloves, socks, stockings, spats, gaiters, bonnets, hats or caps (other than chefs' caps and hospital ward caps);

(3)     The making of boys' washing suits;

(4)     The making of washable clothing to be worn by children without distinction of sex;

(5)     The making of any articles the making of which is included in the Trade Boards (Tailoring) Order, 1919.

PART VI

DEFINITION OF WORKERS

A SPECIAL OR MEASURE CUTTER is a worker who -

(a)      is able to make a complete set of measures and cut from model patterns;

and

(b)      has sufficient technical knowledge to alter patterns (excluding stock patterns).

A LEARNER CUTTER is a worker who -

(a)     is employed under a verbal or written agreement by an employer who undertakes to provide the learner with reasonable and effective facilities for learning the cutting branch of the Trade including the operations of hooking-up, folding, marking-in (stencilling) or marking-out (pencilling) and dividing;

and

(b)     has received a certificate or has been registered in accordance with rules from time to time laid down by the Committee or has made application for such certificate of registration which has been duly acknowledged and is still under consideration. Provided that the certificate of registration of a learner cutter shall become invalid if at any time during learnership the provisions set out in this Schedule relating thereto are not complied with. Provided that an employer may employ a learner cutter on first employment in the cutting branch of the Shirtmaking Trade as defined in this Schedule without a certificate of registration for a probationary period not exceeding four weeks but, in the event of such learner being continued thereafter in the employment, the probationary period shall be included in his/her period of learnership.

HOME-WORKER OR OUT-WORKER:

A home-worker or out-worker is a person who works in any place not under the control or management of the employer.

A LEARNER is a worker who:-

(a)     is employed during the whole or a substantial part of the time learning any branch or process of the trade by an employer who provides the learner with reasonable facilities for such learning,

and

(b)     has received a certificate or has been registered in accordance with rules from time to time laid down by the Joint Labour Committee or has made application for such certificate of registration which has been duly acknowledged and is still under consideration.

Provided that -

(c)     The certificate of registration of a learner shall become invalid if at any time during the learnership the provisions set out in this Schedule relating thereto are not complied with;

(d)     An employer may employ a learner on first employment in any branch or branches of the Trade as above described without a certificate of registration for a probationary period not exceeding four weeks but, in the event of such learner being continued thereafter in the employment, the probationary period shall be included in the period of learnership;

(e)     Notwithstanding compliance with the conditions contained in this Schedule, a person shall not be deemed to be a learner if work is performed in a room used for dwelling purposes and is not in the employment of a parent or guardian;

(f)      A learner shall cease to be a learner and shall be entitled to the full Minimum Time-Rate upon the completion of two years' employment;

(g)      An application for a learner's certificate must be made to the Joint Labour Committee in respect of every worker whom it is desired to employ at the special lower rates fixed for learners. Unless a learner's certificate has been obtained, or application has been made which has been acknowledged and is still under consideration, and the other conditions of learnership laid down in this part of the Schedule are complied with, the minimum rate payable is that for workers other than learners;

(h)     For the purpose of determining the minimum rate applicable there shall be included in the calculation of the period of employment of a learner one-half of the period of such learner's attendance at a technical school for the purpose of receiving instructions in the Shirtmaking Trade from a teacher whose qualification has been approved by the Department of Education and Science who is employed by a Statutory Technical Instruction Committee;

(i)      Such period of instruction in a technical school shall not be regarded as -�first employment in the branch or branches of the Trade-� for the purpose of the provisions in (d) above relative to employment without a certificate of registration during the learner's probationary period.

PART VII

GENERAL

In the case of any worker employed on piece-work for which no General Minimum Piece-Rate has been fixed, the minimum piece-rate payable shall be such as will yield in the circumstances of the case to an ordinary worker not less than the appropriate basis rate. In determining whether any piece-rate is sufficient to satisfy this condition regard must be had only to the earnings of ordinary workers, i.e. workers of ordinary skill and experience in the class of work in question, and not to the earnings of workers of less than ordinary skill and experience, e.g. learners, apprentices and infirm workers.

For the purpose of the foregoing provisions, the expression -�basis rate-� means the piece-work basis time-rate fixed for the class of worker in question or, where no such Piece-Work Basis Time-Rate has been fixed, the General Minimum Time-Rate which has been fixed for that class of worker.

The above minimum rates of wages shall be payable on the basis that all sewing and other materials are supplied by the employer.

Nothing in this Employment Regulation Order shall be taken to exclude, limit or be in any way inconsistent with the rights of any employee under any statutory enactment.

PART VIII

WAITING TIME

Waiting Time to be paid for : A worker must be paid not less than the appropriate minimum rate in respect of all time during which he/she is present on the employer's premises unless the employer can prove that such worker was so present (a) without the employer's consent, expressed or implied, or (b) for some purpose unconnected with his/her work and other than waiting for work to be given him/her to perform: or unless the worker was present (c) only by reason of the fact that he/she was resident on the premises in which no work was being done.

A worker employed on piece-work is deemed during waiting-time to have been employed at the General Minimum Time-Rate applicable.

PART IX

SERVICE PAY

Workers who have been in continuous employment with the one employer shall be granted service pay on the following basis:-

No. of years' service with an employer

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.

This instrument fixes statutory minimum rates of pay and regulates conditions of employment as from 10th October, 2006 for workers employed in the Shirtmaking Trade. It is made by the Labour Court on the recommendation of the Shirtmaking Joint Labour Committee.

NOTE:-      Enquiries should be directed to the Secretary, Joint Labour Committees, The Labour Court, Tom Johnson House, Haddington Road, Dublin 4. (Telephone: 01-6136666, Extension Nos. 6639, 6640, 6641 and 6642. -�Lo-Call-� number (if calling from outside (01) area) 1890 220 228).