The Mandate trade union has called for changes to be made to employment laws so that employers are legally obliged to offer more contracted working hours to part-time workers.
According to the union, the latest CSO data shows that the average retail worker in Ireland earns half of the average industrial wage and less than the living wage.
Mandate said its own research shows that 75% of its members are on part-time contracts, and that a significant number of them would like to work more than the hours for which they have been contracted.
“While the 2018 Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act gives them the right to request more contracted working hours, unfortunately employers are not obliged to accede to such requests even if staff have already been working the hours requested,” said Mandate’s Assistant General Secretary Jim Fuery.
“Our experience on the ground is that while some part-time workers do get the opportunity to get better contracts, many do not due to a mix of management intransigence or the extra hours offered not being compatible with their care responsibilities like collecting and looking after school-going children,” Mr Fuery said.
Mandate has called for changes to the 2018 act which would place a legal obligation on employers to offer a higher weekly hours band contract to employees if they have worked more than their contracted hours during the previous six months.
The union also wants employers to be obliged by law to offer additional hours when they become available to existing part-time employees.
