Joint Labour Committees

Information

In Ireland some employments are covered by agreements made by Joint Labour Committees (JLCs). The purpose of Joint Labour Committees is to regulate conditions of employment and set minimum rates of pay for employees in certain sectors of employment. A Joint Labour Committee (JLC) is established by a statutory order of the Labour Court under the Industrial Relations Act 1946. It is an independent body made up of equal numbers of employer and worker representatives appointed by the Labour Court, with a chair appointed by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation. Any of the following may apply to the Labour Court to set up a JLC:

• The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation
• A trade union
• An organisation claiming to represent the workers or employers involved.

List of Joint Labour Committees

 Currently there are 19 Joint Labour Committees:

• Aerated Waters and Wholesale Bottling
• Agricultural Workers 
• Brush and Broom 
• Catering (excluding Dublin City and Dun Laoghaire)
• Catering (Dublin City and Dun Laoghaire)
• Contract Cleaning (City and County of Dublin)
• Contract Cleaning (Other)
• Hairdressing (Dublin City, Dun Laoghaire and Bray) 
• Hairdressing (Cork City) 
• Handkerchief and Household Piece Goods 
• Hotels (Dublin City and Dun Laoghaire) 
• Hotels (Others excluding Cork) 
• Law Clerks
• Provender Milling
• Retail, Grocery and Allied Trades
• Security Industry
• Shirtmaking
• Tailoring
• Women's Clothing and Millinery

EROs and REAs

Agreements on pay and conditions are known as Employment Regulation Orders (EROs) or Registered Employment Agreements (REAs). EROs are made by Joint Labour Committees (JLCs) and REAs are Collective Agreements made between trade unions and employers which are registered with the Labour Courts. There are REAs for the following sectors: Drapery, Footwear and Allied Trades (Dublin and Dun Laoghaire); Construction Industry; Printing (Dublin); Electrical Contracting.

Joint Labour Committee agreements

A Joint Labour Committee agrees pay rates and employment conditions which are submitted as proposals to the Labour Court. The Labour Court makes an Employment Regulation Order (ERO) confirming these proposals and they become the statutory minimum pay and conditions of employment for the workers in that JLC’s sector of employment, for example, hairdressing. 

Employers of workers covered by a JLC are obliged to pay the wage rates and provide the conditions of employment prescribed by the ERO. They must also display details of the current agreement in the workplace and keep records of wages. The National Employment Rights Authority is responsible for enforcing EROs and, if necessary will take proceedings against an employer who is in breach of an Employment Regulation Order.

Rates

How to apply

If you want to find out whether your job is covered by an Employment Regulation Order (ERO) you should contact the Information Services of the National Employment Rights Authority.

If your job is covered by an ERO and your employer is not complying with it, you can make a complaint to the National Employment Rights Authority.

Where to apply