FULL RECOMMENDATION
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1990 SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : BORD NA GCON (REPRESENTED BY IRISH BUSINESS AND EMPLOYERS' CONFEDERATION) - AND - SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION DIVISION : Chairman: Mr Duffy Employer Member: Mr McHenry Worker Member: Mr O'Neill |
1. Maintenance of pay link.
BACKGROUND:
2. The dispute concerns one worker who has been employed as a clerical assistant at the Company Kingdom Greyhound Track for the past 20 years. In 1988, following a claim for the introduction of a new salary scale, the Labour Court in LCR 11625, recommended that the two workers concerned (one of whom is the claimant in the current dispute) be granted the salary scale for clerical assistant/typist in the Public Service. In 1997, as part of the PCW restructuring negotiations, a major revision of grades and scales took place in the Civil Service. The claimant is seeking the maintenance of the linkage with the Public Service, as referred to in LCR 11625, which would increase her rate of pay from £13,266 per annum to £17,720 per annum. The Company indicated that while there was some scope for negotiation on the claimant's salary in the context of a revision of her working hours and responsibilities, including night duty, it rejected the claim for parity. Two conciliation conferences took place following which agreement was not reached. The Company, however, was prepared to consider a revised salary scale of £15,000 and some form of lump sum payment to buyout linkage to the Civil Service pay scale. This was unacceptable to the Union. The dispute was referred to the Labour Court, on the 17th of December, 1999, in accordance with Section 26 (1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. The Court carried out its investigation, in Tralee, on the 29th of February, 2000.
UNION'S ARGUMENTS:
2. 1. The link between the claimant's rate of pay and that of the clerical administrative grade in the Public Service must be maintained. The worker in question has made major contributions to increased productivity over the years. She has always been available to take on additional duties, including night work, as required by the Company, subject to her maintaining her link with the Public Service.
2. The financial situation at the track has much improved in recent times, with a substantial increase in track business since 1997 and a paid attendance up by 48% and tote takings up by over 200%.
COMPANY'S ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. Whilst this type of claim is clearly a cost increasing claim which is precluded under the stabilisation clause of the Partnership 2000 (P2000) Agreement, the employer, in this case, was prepared to negotiate on a review of this employee's rate in the context of a review of her working hours and responsibilities. The Company was prepared to increase her salary up from £13,228 up to £14,352 and agree a once off lump sum payment in the context of a "buy out" of the link with the Civil Service pay scales in the context of securing an overall agreement on her salary. Yet whilst the Company was prepared to negotiate along the aforementioned lines. The claimant refused to negotiate on the issue of relinquishing a link with a Civil Service pay scale.
2. The Company accepted the terms of LCR 11625. The employer is quite prepared to continue to honour the terms of the recommendation and apply the clerical assistant scale as previously recommended by the Labour Court.
However, the Company cannot under any circumstances accede to the Union's claim that this employee's grade be elevated to the recently amalgamated Clerical Officer grade in the Civil Service where the current maximum of the scale is £17,720.
3. If the Court were to find any merit in the claim that the worker be placed on the revised Clerical Officer scale, this would have a very serious impact on the operational and financial out turn of the Company. Notwithstanding the fact that the Company has obtained government capital development grants in recent years, this employer continues to accumulate financial losses on an annual basis over the past four years.
4. If the Union's claim were to be acceded to, there would be severe knock-on effects, both within the Tralee track and throughout the subsidiary companies of Bord na gCon.
RECOMMENDATION:
The claimant in this case is employed under a long standing agreement between the parties by which her rate is directly aligned with the Clerical Assistant Scale in the Civil Service. As a result of restructuring under PCW, that scale has now been amalgamated with the Clerical Officer Scale. On the basis of the current agreement, the Court considers that the Union's claim for the maintenance of parity between the claimant's rate and that of the amalgamated Civil Service grade is well founded.
The Court recommends that the Union's claim be conceded on the basis that the parties identify and agree productivity /flexibility measures of equal value to those conceded in the case of the former Clerical Assistant grade in the Civil Service.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Kevin Duffy
16th March, 2000.______________________
MK/BCDeputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Michael Keegan, Court Secretary.