Ireland: Draft national agreement to restore freelancers' representation rights

The draft national pay agreement reached in September 2008 includes a government commitment to amend the law to give many freelance workers the right to collective representation and bargaining.

Over recent years, the Competition Authority (the statutory body that enforces competition law) has interpreted the Competition Act 2002 in a way that treats the collective setting of pay rates for freelance journalists, actors, musicians and film technicians as anti-competitive.