The statutory duties on employers to inform and consult the workforce about proposed redundancies contained in Part IV, Chapter II of Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (“TULRCA”) were introduced in order to implement the mandatory provisions of Council Directive 75/129/EEC of 17 February 1975 since replaced Council Directive 98/59 of 20 July 1998 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to collective redundancies.