Labour Court Database __________________________________________________________________________________ File Number: CD90620 Case Number: LCR13368 Section / Act: S67 Parties: ST FIACHRA'S TRAINING CENTRE - and - AMALGAMATED TRANSPORT AND GENERAL WORKERS' UNION |
Dispute concerning the salary and conditions of employment of the director of the centre.
Recommendation:
11. Having considered at length the submissions of the parties
and the oral evidence presented at the hearing, the Court
recommends that the same scale of pay and conditions be applied to
the claimant as the Tullamore Community Workshop Manager with
effect from 1st January, 1991.
The Court regards as inequitable the loss sustained by the
claimant when increments granted by the V.E.C. in respect of his
teaching responsibilities remained unpaid as a result of F.A.S.
deducting these increments from its contribution to his salary.
The Court recommends that the increments be restored with full
retrospection.
Division: CHAIRMAN Mr Collins Mr Rorke
Text of Document__________________________________________________________________
CD90620 RECOMMENDATION NO. LCR13368
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1990
SECTION 67, INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946
PARTIES: ST FIACHRA'S TRAINING CENTRE
and
AMALGAMATED TRANSPORT AND GENERAL WORKERS' UNION
SUBJECT:
1. Dispute concerning the salary and conditions of employment of
the director of the centre.
BACKGROUND:
2. St. Fiachra's Training Centre in Letterkenny, caters for the
training needs of the travelling community. It is run in
accordance with a code of practice for Training Centres for
Travellers which was drawn up in 1979 following discussions
between the National Association of Training Centres for
Travellers (N.A.T.C.) and the state agencies involved in the
ongoing provision of training services.
3. The Centre is run by a Management Committee comprised of
representatives of the local committee for travellers, the
Vocational Educational Committee (V.E.C.), the local An Foras
Aiseanna Saothair (F.A.S.) manager (or his representative),
representatives of the local travelling community and a number of
other interested groups. Among the duties of the Management
committee are selection and employment of the director,
preparation of budgets (with V.E.C. and F.A.S.) and maintenance of
standards in consultation with F.A.S. and the V.E.C.
4. The Department of Education, through the V.E.C., grants
finance to cover the teaching staff hours, whilst F.A.S. grants
the rest of the finance. The Management Committee prepares agreed
budgets with F.A.S. and the V.E.C. each year. The director's
salary is a combination of contributions from F.A.S. and from the
V.E.C. for his teaching duties (approximately 15 hours a week).
5. The director of St. Fiachra's has been employed since April,
1984, in a temporary full time position. His salary at time of
his appointment was #12,000, the maximum of a 2 point scale. It
has increased to #14,669 per annum as a result of National Pay
Awards.
6. The Union lodged a claim for the full implementation of Labour
Court Recommendation No. 12565 which recommended that workers in
Community Work Shops (managers, trainers and administrative staff)
should have pay and conditions similar to comparable F.A.S.
grades. The Management Committee, whilst sympathetic to the
claim, cannot concede it because F.A.S. refuse to sanction it.
The V.E.C. has paid incremental increases in its grant to the
managemnet committee but F.A.S. has prevented its payment to the
claimant by reducing its grant in an equal amount to the V.E.C.
increase.
7. The matter was referred to the conciliation service of the
Labour Court on 2nd August, 1990. A conciliation conference was
held on 10th October, 1990. As a settlement was not possible, the
parties agreed to refer the dispute to the Labour Court for
investigation and recommendation. A Court hearing was held in
Letterkenny on 12th June, 1991.
8. Two F.A.S. representatives attended the Court hearing as
observers. It was stated that F.A.S. was not the director's
employer, that under an agreement with the Department of Education
the maximum point of the director's salary scale had been set and
that F.A.S.'s contribution towards his salary had maintained it at
that level. F.A.S. had not received approval to increase its
funding in respect of the director's salary beyond its present
level.
UNION'S ARGUMENTS:
9. 1. In comparison with F.A.S. section heads or V.E.C.
teachers, the director of a Travellers Centre works in a much
more difficult environment and encounters more problems than
the former (details supplied to the Court). The director has
attended courses at his own expense to enable him to deal
better with the special problems encountered in his work.
2. The director's salary does not reflect the wide range of
duties and responsibilities assigned to him. As the post is
temporary he is not in a pension scheme nor does he enjoy
other benefits associated with similar full time positions.
MANAGEMENT'S ARGUMENTS:
10. 1. The Management Committee endorses the claim made on behalf
of the director. It is unable to grant the increase because
the terms and conditions under which it employs the director
as well as the finances, are determined by F.A.S.
2. The Management Committee requested that F.A.S. grant the
improved pay and conditions. F.A.S. claim they are not the
employer of the director. However, in accordance with the
codes of practice, F.A.S. are represented on the Committee and
are, therefore, party to the employment of the director.
RECOMMENDATION:
11. Having considered at length the submissions of the parties
and the oral evidence presented at the hearing, the Court
recommends that the same scale of pay and conditions be applied to
the claimant as the Tullamore Community Workshop Manager with
effect from 1st January, 1991.
The Court regards as inequitable the loss sustained by the
claimant when increments granted by the V.E.C. in respect of his
teaching responsibilities remained unpaid as a result of F.A.S.
deducting these increments from its contribution to his salary.
The Court recommends that the increments be restored with full
retrospection.
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Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Kevin Heffernan
_________________________
30th July, 1991 Chairman.
M.D./J.C.