Labour Court Database __________________________________________________________________________________ File Number: CD87779 Case Number: LCR11568 Section / Act: S67 Parties: OUR LADY OF MERCY COLLEGE - and - ASTMS |
Claim on behalf of one porter for parity with the head porter scale in the Vocational Education Committees (VECs).
Recommendation:
5. The Court notes that the claimant's duties have not changed
since his appointment and that the parity claimed has not existed
at any time since then.
Accordingly the Court does not recommend concession of the claim.
Division: Mr Fitzgerald Mr Shiel Mr O'Murchu
Text of Document__________________________________________________________________
CD87779 RECOMMENDATION NO. LCR11568
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1976
SECTION 67
PARTIES: OUR LADY OF MERCY COLLEGE CARYSFORT
(Represented by the Federated Union of Employers)
and
ASSOCIATION OF SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND MANAGERIAL STAFFS
SUBJECT:
1. Claim on behalf of one porter for parity with the head porter
scale in the Vocational Education Committees (VECs).
BACKGROUND:
2. The worker concerned has been employed for the past twelve
years as senior porter in the College. The Union, on his behalf,
is claiming that he should be on point 12 of the VEC head porters'
scale. (#182.90 per week). His present weekly rate is #164.84.
The claim was the subject of local level discussions but no
agreement could be reached and on the 5th August, 1987, the matter
was referred to the conciliation service of the Labour Court. A
conciliation conference took place on the 1st October (earliest
suitable date), but failed to resolve the issue and on the 19th
October, the dispute was referred to the Court for investigation
and recommendation. A Court hearing was held on the 12th
November, 1987.
UNION'S ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. The worker concerned already had parity with the senior
porter in the College of Music but this was distorted by
special awards which were not paid to the claimant. At the
conciliation conference the College conceded that he did have
such parity but no explanation was given as to why it was not
maintained. This parity should now be restored.
2. In addition to the restoration of his initial parity he
should be paid the same rate as a head porter in VEC
colleges. This is based upon his job description which is
identical in every respect to that of a head porter in the
VECs (details supplied to the Court).
3. The claimant performs other important duties which are
not included on his official list of duties. For example,
since his appointment he has been responsible for the
lodgement of cash and cheques to the bank. In addition, he
is solely responsible for the collection of cash from the
bank to pay the wages each week and this amounts to between
#4,000 and #5,000 per week. He also uses his own car for
college business and is responsible for the supervision of
two porters at the college.
4. The College has always paid its clerical staff VEC rates
although this has never been formally recognised by the
Department of Education. However, following a conciliation
conference in June, 1986, the College agreed to continue to
pay these rates on a personal basis (details supplied to the
Court). It is therefore the Union's view that all staff were
recruited under VEC rates of pay and that the precedent for
payment of such rates in the future has already been set.
5. At conciliation the College argued that a reason for not
accepting the claim was the present student numbers. This is
irrelevant since the claimant has up until this year had to
cope with a full compliment of 1,000 students. The present
numbers are the result of a Government decision and have no
bearing on a claim which is based on duties which do not
depend on student numbers.
COLLEGE'S ARGUMENTS:
4. 1. There are five colleges in the Dublin area which apply
the VEC head porter rate (details supplied to the Court).
They all employ porters and assistant porters and have more
than a thousand students each. The head porter scale is
authorised by the Department of Education and applies only in
these five colleges. Other smaller colleges within the
Dublin area which have 600 to 700 pupils do not have a head
porter's scale. Sanction depends entirely on the number of
pupils attending the college. Carysfort College, on the
other hand, has now only 166 pupils and has had less than 700
students for the past five years, and therefore falls well
short of the required minimum.
2. The College of Music head porter was used as a guide for
the establishment of the claimant's grade on 1st November,
1980. The salary scale which was introduced was never
approved by the Department of Education as having an agreed
relativity with the VEC salary scale. The top porter in the
College of Music is on the senior porter's scale. It does
not have anybody on the head porter's scale because of the
number of pupils involved.
3. The claimant is currently on the penultimate point (point
12) of the Carysfort College scale - i.e. #164.84. This
compares very favourably with rates of pay for porters in
other Colleges of Education throughout the country (details
supplied to the Court).
4. Given the difficult state of the Government finances and
the effect this is having on jobs throughout the public
sector, it is inopportune to pursue a claim of this nature at
this time. This is particularly the case at the moment in
Carysfort College where the whole future of the college in
any format is under a government decision of closure and
therefore the jobs of all involved in the college are at
risk.
5. The Union tried to justify its claim by comparing the job
being performed by the claimant with the job description of a
head porter the VEC. The job descriptions of a head porter
in the VEC is identical to that of a porter or an assistant
porter. The grading depends on the number of pupils
involved.
RECOMMENDATION:
5. The Court notes that the claimant's duties have not changed
since his appointment and that the parity claimed has not existed
at any time since then.
Accordingly the Court does not recommend concession of the claim.
~
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
9th December, 1987 Nicholas Fitzgerald
D.H./P.W. Deputy Chairman