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Ireland's political and cultural magazine
October 2016 2 7
O
ur crumbling infrastructure for equality is symbol-
ised by the Workplace Relations Commission
(WRC). There are other symbols, but this one still
stands out. The Commission was a product of the eco
-
nomic crisis, the official turn against equality, and the
disenchantment with public-sector bodies designated
by a hostile media as ‘quangos’. It was created out of the
merger of five different bodies, including the Equality
Tribunal; though it has been more disappearance than
merger for the Equality Tribunal.
The Equality Tribunal was a key part of a vibrant set of
statutory institutions for equality during the 2000s. It
was where cases under the Employment Equality Acts,
prohibiting discrimination in employment; and under the
Equal Status Acts, prohibiting discrimination in the pro-
vision of goods, services, education and accommodation;
were heard and decided or mediated. The WRC was
established to merge the National Employment Rights
Authority, the Labour Relations Commission, the Rights
Commissioner Services, and the complaints and refer-
rals functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal
alongside the Equality Tribunal.
The problems started with the name for the new insti
-
tution. Equality legislation stretches far beyond the
confines of the workplace. Many of the more controver-
sial cases pursued under equality legislation and dealt
with by the Equality Tribunal related to the provision of
services, in particular by the public sector. A concern for
rights in accessing services is hardly reflected in a title
of ‘workplace relations’.
The problems continued into the legislation for the
new body in 2015. It was silent on issues of equality,
diversity and discrimination where it set out the func-
tions of the WRC. At best this focus can be implied in the
general function to promote and encourage compliance
with “relevant enactments”. Otherwise the functions
are: promoting the improvement of workplace relations
and maintenance of good workplace relations, providing
guidance on compliance with codes of practice produced
under the Workplace Relations Act 2015, reviewing and
monitoring workplace relations, researching workplace
relations, and providing advice to members of the public
in relation to employment.
Inevitably the problems have now passed into the
operations of the WRC. Civil society organisations have
raised issues in relation to the visibility of equality in the
work of the Commission, the accessibility of the Com-
mission for those experiencing inequality, and the
procedures of the Commission in cases of discrimina-
tion. These issues dominated a recent roundtable
discussion convened by the Equality and Rights Alliance,
the Independent Law Centres Network, the Employment
Lawyers Association of Ireland, and SIPTU’s Workers
Rights Centre.
WRC publications make little mention of equality
cases and equality legislation. Its website, until recently,
offered inadequate information and guidance on equal-
ity legislation, and continues to be difficult to use. The
monthly reporting of the Equality Tribunal on equality
cases decided or mediated - a valuable resource for
tracking developments in implementing the equality leg-
islation, has not been continued. There is no breakdown
provided in Commission publications of cases by ground
or field of discrimination and outcome.
Access to justice has, in effect, been diminished with
the establishment of the WRC. The demands made on
people experiencing discrimination, when lodging a
claim, are impossibly onerous unless they get legal
assistance. The right to mediation is illusory and rarely
granted, apparently for lack of resources. There are only
limited concessions in the operations of the Commission
to reasonably accommodating diversity, in particular for
people with disabilities.
There is no clarity offered as to the procedures to be
followed in equality cases. Officers hearing cases
appear to take different approaches. Legal practition-
ers openly express a loss of confidence in the
competence of officers dealing with cases. The
demands on complainants in making submissions take
no account of the barriers faced by people experienc-
ing inequality and discrimination and the limited
resources they might have access to.
New leadership recently appointed to the WRC offers
some hope that change in this sorry scenario might still
be possible. There have been positive indications with
feedback now encouraged, changes being made to the
website, and meetings held with relevant civil society
groups. Change, however, must be vigorously pursued
if equality and non-discrimination are to be asserted as
core functions in the practice of the Commission. The
civil society roundtable agreed that a time-limited prob-
lem-solving working group should be convened by the
Commission to bring the relevant stakeholders together
to secure such an outcome. The convening of such a
working group will be a key test of the willingness to
change.
Name, accessibility,
procedures and agenda
Apart from the above, the Workplace Relations
makes some sense
New WRC
leadership offers
some hope of
change but it is
crucial that a time-
limited, problem-
solving working
group is convened
by Niall Crowley
The Commission deals with workplaces. And (supposedly) provision of public services
