Labour Court Database __________________________________________________________________________________ File Number: CD86957 Case Number: LCR11004 Section / Act: S67 Parties: CASTLEKNOCK COLLEGE - and - ITGWU |
Compensation for loss of Sunday work by Night Cleaning Staff.
Recommendation:
5. The Court, having regard to the fact that there has been a
significant loss of earnings and also having regard to the current
financial circumstances of the College, recommends that each of
the claimants be paid #150.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
John M. Horgan
_________________________
Chairman
10th February, 1987
P.F./U.S.
Division: CHAIRMAN Mr Heffernan Ms Ni Mhurchu
Text of Document__________________________________________________________________
CD86957 THE LABOUR COURT LCR11004
CC861730 INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1976
RECOMMENDATION NO. LCR11004
Parties: CASTLEKNOCK COLLEGE
(Represented by the Federated Union of Employers)
and
IRISH TRANSPORT AND GENERAL WORKERS' UNION
Subject:
1. Compensation for loss of Sunday work by Night Cleaning Staff.
Background:
2. A change in the College's policy with regard to allowing
pupils to go home at weekends which was introduced in March, 1986,
has meant that only a small number of the College's boarders are
present on Sunday evenings. This has resulted in a loss of Sunday
work by the night cleaning staff. The Union, on behalf of the
workers, served a claim on the Company for compensation for loss
of earnings. This claim was rejected by the College at a meeting
on 19th June, 1986. The College is claiming inability to pay. On
20th October, 1986, the matter was referred to the conciliation
service of the Labour Court. A conciliation conference took place
on 2nd December, 1986. No agreement was reached, and on 4th
December, 1986, the matter was referred to the Labour Court for
investigation and recommendation. A Court hearing took place in
Dublin on 26th January, 1987.
Union's arguments:
3. (i) As a result of the changes implemented by the College
there has been a substantial reduction in wages for the
workers concerned (details with Court). The
elimination of the Sunday work in its previous form,
creates a great hardship on the one hand, while on the
other it enhances the finances of the College. It is
not unreasonable that the workers be cushioned against
the hardship in the short term as the savings to the
College will be considerable and long term. Whilst the
College will insist that this is necessary to rectify
its financial situation, it is equally important that
the long term losses to the employees be recognised.
(ii) Regular rostered Sunday working has been a feature of
the employment conditions of these workers over the
years. To reduce this without compensation is a savage
attach on the workers earnings, with a corresponding
effect on their families' lives, as most of those
concerned are married women who are the sole bread
winners in their household.
(iii) The Court in its many recommendations on loss of
earnings insists on a number of criteria to justify
compensation (1) Actual loss (2) Savings to the Company
(3) that earnings lost be well established and that
there be a reasonable expectation of on-going
involvement in same. All of these criteria are
satisfied in the present case. The Union is seeking
two and a half times the annual loss as a lump sum or
alternatively some increse in the workers weekly rate
of pay.
College's arguments:
4 (a) Private fee paying Colleges throughout the Country are
suffering severe financial hardship. St Vincent's
College is being affected more than most, partly due to
the fact that it is a boarding only College which means
that the fees chargeable are high and parents can no
longer afford or are willing to send their children to
the College. As a result, there has been a severe
downturn in the financial position of the College
(details with Court). The College is a non-profit
making organisation with no resources.
(b) The College's other source of income in the past - i.e.
Government grants, have now been withdrawn and are
extremely unlikely to be re-introduced. This has meant
a decline in income for the College of approximately
#40,000 per annum.
(c) The College has been involved in formulating and
implementing a survival programme over the last few
years to try and prevent its total closure and
subsequent job losses. This involves a changeover from
being a boarding only College of 400 pupils to one
catering for 200 boarding pupils and 200 day pupils.
This is the only feasible structure which will prevent
the College from closing. To-date this has resulted in
a number of redundancies and retirements among the
staff. A policy of non-replacement of staff unless
absolutely essential has also been introduced. The
College has also stopped the practice of taking on
temporary staff to cover for absenteeism. This has
impacted in varying degrees on the workloads and duties
of those staff remaining. These changes have been
accepted by all the staff concerned, with the exception
of those concerned in to-day's claim, without any
claims for extra payments etc.
(d) The College is undergoing radical change as a direct
result of financial pressure. It is absolutely
essential that these changes take place to secure the
future of the College and the jobs of its employees.
The College must make a presentation of its case to the
relevant financial institutions. This will be made
even more difficult if costs are not controlled and
kept to a minimum. In view of the above, the College
does not believe that this claim can be justified. If
any concession was to be made, the remaining staff
would be fully justified in pursuing claims on their
own behalf. This would have detrimental effect on the
survival chances of the College and consequentially the
interests of the staff involved.
RECOMMENDATION:
5. The Court, having regard to the fact that there has been a
significant loss of earnings and also having regard to the current
financial circumstances of the College, recommends that each of
the claimants be paid #150.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
John M. Horgan
_________________________
Chairman
10th February, 1987
P.F./U.S.