Labour Court Database __________________________________________________________________________________ File Number: CD89283 Case Number: LCR12630 Section / Act: S67 Parties: ST. JOSEPH'S SCHOOL FOR DEAF BOYS - and - MARINE PORT AND GENERAL WORKERS UNION;LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICES UNION |
Claims concerning:- (a) abolition of qualification bar on salary scale; (b) payment of Sunday premiums; (c) introduction of disputes/grievance procedure.
Recommendation:
12. Having considered the submissions from the parties the Court
recommends as follows on the three items claimed.
(1) REMOVAL OF QUALIFICATION BAR.
The Court understands that this bar was introduced by
agreement. The parties had difficulty in supplying
details as to how the existing employees would be affected
by the bar.
The Court considers it reasonable that the qualification
bar should apply only to those who entered the grade
subsequent to the date of the agreement and accordingly
recommends concession of the Unions' claim.
(2) OVERTIME - SUNDAY:
The Court recommends payment at double time for Sunday
work.
(3) DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES:
The Court recommends that Disciplinary/Grievance procedure
provide for the removal of warnings from individual records
after a period of 12 months.
Division: Ms Owens Mr Shiel Mr Devine
Text of Document__________________________________________________________________
CD89283 RECOMMENDATION NO. LCR12630
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1976
SECTION 67
PARTIES: ST. JOSEPH'S SCHOOL FOR DEAF BOYS
(REPRESENTED BY THE FEDERATION OF IRISH EMPLOYERS)
AND
MARINE PORT AND GENERAL WORKERS UNION
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICES UNION
SUBJECT:
1. Claims concerning:-
(a) abolition of qualification bar on salary scale;
(b) payment of Sunday premiums;
(c) introduction of disputes/grievance procedure.
GENERAL BACKGROUND:
2. The school has approximately 230 pupils and employs a total of
nineteen house parents and assistant house parents. The Unions
are claiming the abolition of a qualification bar between the
sixth and seventh point of the assistant house parent's scale, the
payment of Sunday premiums at double time and that warnings be
taken off a worker's record after six months. Management's
position is that the qualification bar acts as an incentive and
there would be repercussive effects if it was removed, that Sunday
working is part of the normal working week and that the same
arrangement applies in another school in which the same salary
rates apply. In relation to the disputes/grievance procedure,
that warnings should only be taken off a worker's record at the
discretion of management and if there has been no further
disciplinary action. No agreement could be reached at local level
and on 2nd March, 1989 the matters were referred to the
conciliation service of the Labour Court. A conciliation
conference was held on 24th April, 1989 at which no agreement
could be reached and the matter was referred to the Labour Court
for investigation and recommendation. The Court investigated the
dispute on 31st May, 1989. Further information in relation to the
qualification bar was subsequently supplied by the parties.
CLAIM (A) - abolition of qualification bar on salary scale.
BACKGROUND:
3. During 1988 following LCR No. 11914 of 23rd June, 1988 and
subsequent discussions, agreement was reached between the parties
to apply the same rates of pay and conditions as those in a
similar institution, Beech Park. These rates are 85% of
Department of Health rates for care workers, due to long school
holidays. The salary scale for house parent currently ranges from
#8,345 to #10,487 per annum and that for assistant house parent
from #7,966 to #9,736 per annum. On the salary scale for
assistant house parents there is a qualification bar between the
sixth and seventh points of the scale. This means that a worker
cannot progress beyond #9,070 per annum without a suitable
qualification. The Unions are claiming that this qualification
bar should be eliminated.
UNIONS' ARGUMENTS:
4. 1. The qualification bar is used primarily as a financial
blockage and has no value in achieving promotion to the post
of house parent. This is borne out by the fact that one of
the assistant house parents applied for one of five jobs which
recently came up in the school and that one of these was
filled by a person without the qualification but with many
years of experience. There are a number of workers employed
as assistant house parents who have many years experience
and who have not been allowed to move beyond point six of the
scale. The workers only receive 85% of the Health Boards
salary scales. The salaries are already low considering the
responsibility of the jobs and the bar should be removed.
SCHOOL'S ARGUMENTS:
5. 1. Where assistant house parent scales apply in any Health
Board/Department of Health institutions the qualification bar
point also applies between the sixth and seventh point of the
scale. Beech Park which has the same salary scales as this
school and with which the school is aligned also applies the
qualification bar point. Eliminating the bar point would mean
that there would be no incentive for assistant house parents
to train for an appropriate qualification and it would be
unfair to pay non-qualified assistant house parents the same
rate as a qualified person beyond the bar.
2. Eliminating the qualification bar would have repercussive
effects throughout similar institutions, particularly those
covered by Health Boards and Department of Health. The
affect of an increase from the rate of pay prior to
implementation of Beech Park salary scales to the sixth point
of scale is equal to 26% in some cases. An increase to the
ninth point of scale without any justification would result in
a further 7.3% increase. The Department of Health has
indicated that no payments will be funded outside of the
appropriate salary scale.
CLAIM (B) - payment of Sunday premiums.
BACKGROUND:
6. On Sundays some workers are required to attend work in order
to receive pupils for the coming week at school. To date this has
been worked as part of the normal working week and no premiums
have been paid. The Unions are claiming that the workers should
be paid a Sunday premium of double time in line with a Department
of Health circular.
UNIONS' ARGUMENT:
7. 1. In 1986 the Local Government and Public Services Union
reached agreement with the Department of Health that Sunday
work should be paid at double time by 1st July, 1988 (details
supplied to the Court). The workers concerned here should
also be paid at this rate.
SCHOOL'S ARGUMENT:
8. 1. In the recent negotiations on pay in the school it was
agreed that the rates paid in Beech Park would be applied.
Care staff in Beech Park are not paid a Sunday premium.
Concession of this claim would be cost increasing and the
Eastern Health Board has continuously held that it will not
fund wage costs above that of a similar institution, such as
Beech Park.
CLAIM (C) - Introduction of dispute/grievance procedure.
BACKGROUND:
9. A dispute/grievance procedure is being introduced by the
school. The Unions have claimed that warnings should be
automatically taken off a worker's record after a period of six
months. Management's position was that this should be at their
discretion depending on the particular circumstances. At
conciliation, management suggested an addendum as follows:-
"...If after a period of six months there has been no
further disciplinary action taken, warnings may be
reduced or taken off an individuals record at the
discretion of management."
UNIONS' ARGUMENT:
10. 1. If after a six months period no further disciplinary
warning has been given to a worker the warning should be
automatically taken off the worker's record, in line with
normal procedure.
SCHOOL'S ARGUMENT:
11. 1. If the disciplinary procedure includes the automatic
withering of warnings after a period of six months there
could be very serious abuses of the procedure. Management's
proposal should be accepted and they are willing to review
the clause after a two year period. In any case should the
Unions choose to dispute disciplinary measures taken by
management they can always be dealt with through the agreed
procedures.
RECOMMENDATION:
12. Having considered the submissions from the parties the Court
recommends as follows on the three items claimed.
(1) REMOVAL OF QUALIFICATION BAR.
The Court understands that this bar was introduced by
agreement. The parties had difficulty in supplying
details as to how the existing employees would be affected
by the bar.
The Court considers it reasonable that the qualification
bar should apply only to those who entered the grade
subsequent to the date of the agreement and accordingly
recommends concession of the Unions' claim.
(2) OVERTIME - SUNDAY:
The Court recommends payment at double time for Sunday
work.
(3) DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES:
The Court recommends that Disciplinary/Grievance procedure
provide for the removal of warnings from individual records
after a period of 12 months.
~
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court,
Evelyn Owens
___8th__November,___1989. ___________________
U. M. / M. F. Deputy Chairman