Proposed laws aimed at providing greater protection to low paid workers are due to be debated in the Seanad next week.
The bill aims to reform Joint Labour Committees, which bring unions and workers together to work out minimum standard working hours and rates of pay.
Labour Senator Ged Nash said today that these committees are not working in some sectors because employers are refusing to engage.
He said just two of the seven Joint Labour Committees that are in place are operational because of a veto by employers.
Senator Nash said that under the bill employers would either have to engage with the JLC process or have a solution imposed by the Labour Court.
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The bill would give new powers to the Labour Court to set rates of pay above the minimum wage in low paid sectors of the economy.
Senator Nash said catering, hotels, retail and agriculture are sectors where employers are only obliged to pay the minimum wage of €9.80 per hour.
He said the Bill will ensure that employers take part in Joint Labour Committees.
"In the Bill we are proposing to essentially bypass the employers who refuse to engage and allow the Labour Court to make an independent recommendation to the minister for business, enterprise and innovation on new rates of pay in those sectors.
"Those rates can then be adopted by members of the Seanad and the Dáil and become law."
Aoife Mitchell, who worked in the hotel industry for nine years, said she found it very difficult.
"There are a lot of issues aside from pay, working conditions in the sector are pretty poor as well. I would have experienced harassment and bullying and that is a common complaint from people working in the sector."
"Everybody is aware of the cost of living these days rental prices are extremely high so you're living week to week while you're working in this sector, so it's very difficult to forward plan for a family and all of those things come into play."
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She said a Joint Labour Committee in the hotel sector would give workers and unions an avenue to address poor pay and conditions.
Laurance Baker, who has been a chef for the past 32 years, said it was extremely hard for new staff coming into the sector.
"They have no negotiation power going forward, they are on minimum wage coming into sector and they have no training and no experience and there are no prospects as in apprenticeships.
"The hours can be awkward for family life but it's something we have to put up with until it's sorted."
