Writing for Belfast Live, Sinn Féin Chairman and South Antrim MLA, Declan Kearney, sets out how the Good Jobs Bill will benefit workers
The ‘Good Jobs Bill’ has now been submitted to the Executive. Hopefully, it will soon be allowed to proceed into the Assembly and Committee for legislative scrutiny to begin.
This is good news. The Bill represents the most progressive piece of employment law ever introduced in the north. Its provisions exceed the existing legislative arrangements in the 26 counties.
Employer and business organisations recently published concerns suggesting there would be insufficient time to scrutinise and amend the bill. That is not the case.
Of course, some organisations and economic interests will express disagreements.
Other political parties may well try to block the progress of the legislation and run the clock down for purely cynical and partisan ideological reasons.
The fact is, this Bill has been drafted to benefit every working family in the north.
In February 2026, the Law Centre NI and Joseph Rowntree Foundation reported that up to 60 per cent of people in the north who are living in poverty are in working families.
Across various sectors of our economy, including retail, hospitality, health and social care, workers are not making enough money to sustain decent living standards for their families.
Low-pay jobs and insecure employment have become a lived reality.
This damning statistic underscores the need to overhaul employment practices through a legislative measure which gets the balance right between employers’ profitability and the right of workers to a fair wage and decent living standards. Now we have an opportunity to get that balance right.
The primary objective of the ‘Good Jobs’ Employment Rights legislation is to address low pay and insecure employment through decent jobs, improved trade union access to workplaces, and collective bargaining.
Passage of this progressive legislation is also about encouraging the development of an economy that is both productive and rewarding for all.
Scare-mongering about unions and collective bargaining rights for workers is misplaced.
Workplace relations between employers and employees do not have to be contentious. Social dialogue provides the mechanism with which to meet the challenges facing the regional and national economies.
The Cambridge Centre for Business Research finds that strengthened workers’ rights and higher union density increase the productivity and profitability of a company while at the same time delivering well-paid jobs.
The Nordic experience shows that strong unions and enhanced collective bargaining rights contribute to improved levels of economic productivity, higher wages, strong workers’ rights, and a better quality of life benefits for workers and families. This model succeeds because it practices social dialogue.
There does not have to be a contradiction between union density and the sustainability of business enterprise models.
Data from the United States illustrates the positive role which unions play in its economy.
Workers in higher union density states, such as Washington, Hawaii, New York and California, earn higher median wages than their counterparts in states with lower union membership.
According to the US Department of Labour, in 2023, annual household income in higher union density states was approximately $12,000 higher, on average, than in lower union density states.
The Bureau of Labour Statistics finds that high union density states also enjoy higher levels of productivity. Washington leads all states in long-term productivity and growth.
These same states enjoy higher living standards, lower levels of inequality, better health outcomes, and levels of educational attainment.
The US Economic Policy Institute concludes that union density and collective bargaining rights improve wages and living standards for both union and non-unionised workers alike.
The presence of unions lifts all boats. The north’s regional economy is increasingly attracting Foreign Direct Investment.
Major investors operate here because of the well-educated workforce, our cost competitiveness, and dual market access.
Investments in engineering, manufacturing, and financial services have increased wages and benefits for thousands of workers across the north.
Some employers have a negative reflex towards empowered workers and collective bargaining.
A more considered response to the evidence from Nordic economies and the contrast in union density in US states should give pause for thought.
Large investors want profitability for their companies and their shareholders. And that’s fair enough.
However, a balance must be struck between gains for shareholders and the importance of raising the living standards of all our workers in the north and indeed across the island.
The ‘Good Jobs’ Employment Rights legislation will help to rebalance the economy in the interests of businesses, investors and workers.
Empowering our workforce with effective representation is the key to a stronger economy and more and better jobs.
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