Emma Little-pengelly brands Good Jobs Bill half-baked in Assembly
Emma Little-pengelly called the Good Jobs Bill “half-baked” in the Assembly on Monday and said Sinn Féin was trying to “bully and bounce her” into backing it. She said she would support the bill only if Sinn Féin Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald agreed to split the legislation and remove the new trade union rights.
The dispute goes to the heart of a bill meant to overhaul employment laws across Northern Ireland, including rules on trade union access and protections for workers on zero-hours contracts. Little-Pengelly said the legislation had no support among the business community.
Little-Pengelly on the Good Jobs Bill
Little-Pengelly said the trade union access clauses were “the most aggressive and expansionist access to trade unions, not just in the UK and Ireland but across the European Union.” Under the bill, unions would get a “right to request” access to meet workers for recruitment and representation, and employers would not be allowed to “unreasonably” withhold that access.
That would widen a system that currently lets unions enter a workplace only if the employer already recognises them. Little-Pengelly put the issue directly to the Assembly, making clear that her support depends on stripping out those access provisions rather than endorsing the bill as drafted.
Caoimhe Archibald’s response
Archibald defended the Good Jobs Bill as providing important rights for all workers and said she would not be “be leaving anyone behind.” Sinn Féin said the bill is intended to improve working conditions across Northern Ireland and that workers on zero-hours contracts, carers and parents seeking neonatal leave could benefit from it.
The clash also reflects the lack of agreement around the Executive table on the legislation. Sinn Féin has accused the DUP of blocking the bill, while unions have criticized the party and said the DUP was turning its back on more than a million workers.
Executive support in doubt
Little-Pengelly’s terms leave the bill facing a narrower path than a simple Assembly pitch. If the trade union clauses stay in place, she has made clear she will not back it; if they are removed, support from the Deputy First Minister could become possible.
That makes the split proposal the immediate test for the legislation, with the trade union access powers at the center of the argument.
