FULL RECOMMENDATION
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1990 SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : ST VINCENT DE PAUL NIGHT SHELTER CORK (REPRESENTED BY THE IRISH BUSINESS AND EMPLOYERS' CONFEDERATION) - AND - SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION DIVISION : Chairman: Mr Flood Employer Member: Mr McHenry Worker Member: Mr. Somers |
1. Pay review/increase.
BACKGROUND:
2. The dispute before the Court relates to the Union's claim for pay reviews/increases on behalf of two employees who are employed as night security staff at St. Vincent's Hostel in Cork. One employee works from Monday to Thursday inclusive from 8pm to 7am, a total of 44 hours, with an hourly rate of £4.58 and a weekly rate of £201.70. The other employee works Friday to Sunday inclusive from 8pm to 8am, a total of 36 hours, with an hourly rate of £5.60 and a weekly rate of £201.70. The higher hourly rate is in respect of the unsocial hours worked at week-ends.
Agreement on the issue was not possible at local level discussions and a conciliation conference was held under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission the 17th of November, 1999. The Society put forward a proposal to change the work rota to a fortnightly rota, with 7 days on and 7 days off. Each employee would work from 9pm to 8am every second week, a total of 77 hours per fortnight.
The Society would increase the hourly rate of pay to £7.04, a total of £271.04 per week. The Union rejected the proposal and requested referral of the dispute to the Labour Court in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. The Court investigated the dispute on the 12th of April, 2000, in Cork.
UNION'S ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. The Society's proposal of a 7 day on/7 day off rota is not practical or workable. The workers' contracts of employment would be completely altered in return for a marginal increase in the hourly rate of pay.
2. The current rates of pay are way below any comparable rates applicable in the area of residential supervision and care (details to the Court). They are also well below proposed rates which issued from the Labour Relations Commission in relation to the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Dublin. The proposed rate for Security Supervisor ranges from £8.00 per hour to £9.40 per hour after ten years.
3. The workers' pay should reflect the duties and responsibilities of the job. Each claimant is solely responsible for supervising approximately 77 people per night and dealing with any emergency situation which arises. The security duties in Dublin are far less onerous and involve front gate security, marshalling cars and people to and from the premises.
SOCIETY'S ARGUMENTS:
4. 1. This is a cost increasing claim which is precluded by the terms of the national pay agreements. The Society has implemented the terms of all the national agreements.
2. The workers' rates of pay were agreed with the Union in early 1998. No objections were raised in relation to them. However, in order to address the Union's original claim, the Society put forward a proposal to increase their weekly pay by 34%. The Society believes that this offer was generous and fair in all of the circumstances. An alternative rota of 4 nights on/4 nights off was also rejected by the Union.
3. The Union's claim for comparability with the security supervisory position in the Dublin warehouse facility is without foundation. There are no supervisory positions in the Cork hostel and there is no comparison with the work done in Dublin. The hourly rate offered to the claimants is far higher than the rate that applies to the non-supervisory security staff in Dublin.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Court considered the written and oral submissions made by the parties.
While accepting the responsible role of the claimants, the Court does not accept the arguments made for comparison with the Dublin pay rates.
The Court is satisfied that the Society has made a serious effort to address the Union's pay claim, but accepts that the proposed working arrangements attached to the proposal are
unacceptable to the Union.
The Court recommends that the Society's offer on pay form the basis for an agreement between the parties and that further discussions take place on the rosters to be worked.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Finbarr Flood
18th April, 2000______________________
D.G./C.C.Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Dympna Greene, Court Secretary.