FULL RECOMMENDATION
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1990 SECTION 20(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1969 PARTIES : DAVIS COLLEGE - AND - MANUFACTURING, SCIENCE, FINANCE DIVISION : Chairman: Ms Jenkinson Employer Member: Mr McHenry Worker Member: Mr Rorke |
1. Parity agreement with Institutes of Technology.
BACKGROUND:
2. The Union's claim is on behalf of a Craft Assistant who has been employed by Co. Cork V.E.C. in Davis College, Mallow, Co. Cork, since 1975, for maintenance of parity of pay and conditions with Craft Assistants in Institutes of Technology. Traditionally technical staff employed in V.E.C.s have had a pay relativity with technical staff employed in Institutes of Technology.
The Union's claim follows agreement with the Department of Education and Science under Clause 2 (iii) of the Programme for Competitiveness and Work (P.C.W.) in respect of Craft Assistants in the Institutes of Technology. The agreement provided for pay increases of 6.5% to 11.5% and assimilation onto the Technician scale. The Department of Education and Science was willing to sanction the application of the revised Craft Assistant pay scale but refused to assimilate the claimant onto the Technicians' scale.
The Union referred the dispute to the Labour Court on the 5th of May, 1999, in accordance with Section 20(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969, and agreed to be bound by the Court's recommendation. The Court investigated the issue on the 17th of August, 1999, the earliest date suitable to the parties.
UNION'S ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. Parity of pay and conditions has always existed between the claimant and Craft Assistants in the Institutes of Technology. Prior to the current agreement Craft Assistants were paid for only seven points of the Technicians' ten point pay scale, but subsequent to this agreement were assimilated to the ten point pay scale. This scale should now apply to the claimant.
2. The claimant is carrying out duties which are equivalent to those carried out by Craft Assistants in the Motor Departments of Cork and Limerick Institutes of Technology who have been assimilated onto the Technician scale. The claimant works in a workshop/laboratory situation, has Senior Trades Exams as per Clause 2 (b) (ii) of the
Agreement, holds a qualification in Garage and Organisation Management and is an associate member of I.R.T.E..
3. The Department of Education and Science has recognised the position of Technician in the V.E.C. sector in the past. The fact that the claimant is the sole technical employee in Davis College does not diminish his entitlement to parity of treatment with Technicians in Institutes of Technology.
EMPLOYER'S ARGUMENTS:
1. The initial agreement which was negotiated by Medical Laboratory Technicians, involved general increases of 6.5% to 11.5%, and was applied to all related grades. The assimilation being sought by the claimant is an aspect of the agreement negotiated in the Institutes of Technology and was not generally applied across the education sector.
2. Management in the Institutes of Technology saw merit in absorbing the grade of Craft Assistant into the Technician grade as there was considerable overlap in their work. The cost was offset by the introduction of lower entry points on the Technician salary scale. The expected number of Technicians to be recruited by the Institutes will result in a cost neutral position. This level of recruitment will not occur in the V.E.C.s.
3. The work currently performed by the claimant is appropriate to the grade of Craft Assistant. There is no Technician post at Davis College and the claimant is the only Craft Assistant at the College. The Department of Education and Science does not see how a similar agreement to that reached with the Institutes of Technology could be agreed for the V.E.C. sector.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Court has given consideration to the written and oral submissions of the parties. The Court is of the view that concession of the scale which applies to Technicians in the Institutes of Technology is warranted in this case, due to the skills, work experience and qualifications of this claimant. The work performed by him is in many respects similar to the work of Technicians in the Institutes and goes beyond the normal work of Craft Assistants employed in V.E.C. schools.
However, as the application of the new rate to Craft Assistants assimilated on to the Technicians' scale was clearly negotiated on the basis of future cost savings, the Court recommends that concession of this claim is dependent on the parties agreeing to future cost savings within the College.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Caroline Jenkinson
14th September, 1999______________________
DG/BCDeputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Dympna Greene, Court Secretary.