FULL RECOMMENDATION
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 2001 SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : IARNR�D EIREANN - AND - SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION NATIONAL BUS AND RAIL UNION DIVISION : Chairman: Mr Duffy Employer Member: Mr Carberry Worker Member: Mr. Somers |
1. Change proposals and pay (15 Signal Persons).
BACKGROUND:
2. The 'Centralised Traffic Control' (CTC) centre based in Connolly Station controls all the rail traffic leaving Dublin. There are 15 Staff deployed in the CTC Signalpersons grade, 5 on the Mainline and 10 on the Suburban system.
The Mainline System CTC is manned by 5 signalmen on shifts comprising of 2 men each on morning shift from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and late shift from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m., and 1 man on night shift from 12 a.m. to 8 a.m. It is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 52 weeks a year. It closes for 2 days a year - on Christmas day and St. Stephen's day. The Suburban system is manned from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and there is 1 man controlling train movements, 1 man on communications and 2 men on the level crossings. During the hours of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., there is 1 man on train control and communications and 1 man on the level crossings. The role of the signalman is to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the railways.
Discussions commenced in April, 1997, as part of the wider Change Programme within Iarnrod Eireann. The change in work pattern involves the replacement of the existing 6 day standard week, Monday through to Saturday with Sunday worked as an additional day, with a 5 over 7 day roster. The 5 over 7 day roster provides for a 5 day standard week with Sunday worked as a standard day during the roster. The Union's claim is for a remuneration package of £37,000. They are also seeking a working hours package of 40 hours per week i.e. 8 hours x 5 days .
The Company propose that CTC Signalpersons will not be required to work in excess of 48 hours. The rates of pay proposed are as follows:
39 hours £25,360 (32,200.56 Euro)
40 hours £26,010 (33,025.89 Euro)
41 hours £26,661 (33,852.49 Euro)
42 hours £27,311 (34,677.82 Euro)
43 hours £27,961 (35,503.15 Euro) (For existing CTC Signalpersons)
44 hours £28,611 (36,328.48 Euro)
45 hours £29,262 (37,155. 08 Euro)
46 hours £29,912 (37,980.41 Euro)
47 hours £30,562 (38,805.74 Euro)
48 hours £31,212 (39,631.06 Euro)
The new entrants rate is as follows:
23,585 | 24,190 | 24,794 | 25,399 | 26,004 | 26,609 | 27,213 | 27,818 | 27,423 | 29,028 |
23,331 | 23,930 | 24,528 | 25,126 | 25,724 | 26,323 | 26,921 | 27,519 | 28,117 | 28,715 |
23,078 | 23,669 | 24,261 | 24,853 | 25,445 | 26,036 | 26,628 | 27,220 | 27,812 | 28,403 |
22,824 | 23,409 | 23,995 | 24,580 | 25,165 | 25,750 | 26,336 | 26,921 | 27,506 | 28,091 |
22,571 | 23,149 | 23,728 | 24,307 | 24,885 | 25,464 | 26,043 | 26,622 | 27,200 | 27,779 |
22,317 | 22,889 | 23,461 | 24,034 | 24,606 | 25,178 | 25,750 | 26,323 | 26,895 | 27,467 |
The CTC Signalpersons whose earnings reduce as a result of the implementation of the new pay arrangements, will qualify for lump sum compensation payments in line with Labour Court Recommendation No. 16347. CTC Signalpersons and new entrants will obtain enhanced pension entitlements based on the 39 hour contract rate.
The issues were the subject of conciliation conferences held under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission on several dates up to the 8th March, 2001. As no agreement could be reached, the dispute was referred to the Labour Court on the 2nd July, 2001 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. A Labour Court hearing took place on the 2nd of August, 2001.
UNIONS' ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. The CTC Signalmen are seeking a remuneration package of £37,000 per annum. This is a pay cut from the £38,000 which is currently earned. They are also seeking a working hours package of 40 hours, which would allow the signalmen to have a reasonable standard of life in a package of 8 hours x 5 days. The Electrical Control Operators who work in the same building as the CTC signalmen and new entrants receive a bonus of £2,000 at Christmas for their part in the isolation procedures. The signalmen do not receive anything.
2. The average earnings of the workers including overtime and allowances, is £38,000. They work 7 days a week working a minimum of an 8 hour day and sometimes 16 hour shifts to make this amount.
3. The CTC Signalmen have been the highest paid rail-operative grade within Iarnrod Eireann. The Company have made offers to all grades and this group was offered the highest levels of remuneration but, in the course of negotiations the offers have fallen behind some other grades.
4. The CTC Signalmen is the most productive, efficient and responsible grade within the Company and to recognise the levels of productivity and additional responsibilities expected of them in the future justifies their claim for an enhanced salary package and reduced level of working hours.
COMPANY'S ARGUMENTS:
4. 1. The Company is offering of composite earnings package with a top line "red circled" rate specific only to existing CTC Signalpersons is fair, reasonable and should be accepted in a situation where regular 7 days 60 hour working per week is being replaced by regular 5 day working, with guaranteed stable income and enhanced related pension for CTC Signalpersons.
2. Any straight relating with other grades would be inappropriate and have significant consequences for negotiations with other groups involved in the wider change programme in Iarnrod Eireann and any future bargaining where the need for change arises with a particular grade or grades.
3. CTC Signalpersons, have limited potential for change because of the nature of their role.
4. The additional cost to the Company should this claim be conceded is estimated at more than £450,000 p.a. This is unsustainable.
RECOMMENDATION:
This is a claim made on behalf of 15 CTC Signal Persons. It is one of nine disputes, separately referred to the Court, arising from the work reorganisation program initiated by the Company in 1997. As the issues arising in each of these cases are similar, and in some respects identical, the Court convened a serious of consecutive hearings to investigate each of them. The recommendations in each case have been formulated, having regard to the totality of the submissions made in the course of all of the hearing.
Pay.
In their submissions on behalf of the vast majority of those affected by the current series of claims, the Unions have argued that the composite rate payable under the new work structures should be based on previous relativities. For its part, the Company have pointed out that basic pay is but one component of the overall pay of the employees concerned. It says that the composite rates offered take account of the gross current earnings of the grades concerned, the attendance pattern expected of them under the new arrangements, and other relevant considerations. This, the Company contends, was the basis on which the pay of other groups was determined in the present negotiations.
In sharp contrast to the position which they adopted in the majority of cases in the present series, in this claim, the Unions have placed considerable reliance on the previous gross earnings of CTC Signal Persons. They also point to what they claim are high levels of productivity by the group.
From the information provided by the parties, it is clear that some groups, including this group, have maintained high levels of average earnings by working extraordinary levels of overtime. In many cases, the level of overtime has arisen from fortuitous events, and there is a significant disparity in the gross hours worked by different groups. For those reasons, the Court does not accept that reliance on previous average earnings would provide a sound or fair basis for pay determination into the future.
The Court is of the view that the approach to be adopted in determining pay levels under the proposed new arrangements cannot completely discount previously agreed and well established internal pay relationships, although other factors are also clearly relevant. These include the impact of change expected from particular groups, and the degree to which they are prepared to co-operate with such change.
In the present case, the Court is satisfied that the changes in work practice sought by the Company from this grade are broadly similar in nature and degree to that conceded by the other grades who have already concluded agreements. These include Locomotive Drivers and Signal Grades. The Court does not, therefore, accept that a different approach towards this grade is justified on the basis of higher productivity.
In the absence of any other logical basis on which pay can be determined in the current cases, the Court considers that the composite pay of CTC Signal Persons should be determined on the same basis as that claimed by the Unions and conceded by the Court in respect of the vast majority of those associated with the current series of claims. As in other cases this is subject to acceptance of the full range of flexibility measures sought by the Company.
The grade of CTC Signal Person is not directly linked with any other grade within the Company's current pay structure. Nonetheless, it is clear from the information provided to the Court that over a prolonged period the basic pay of CTC Signal Person has remained almost in line with that of the Grade of Mainline Locomotive Driver.
For the reasons stated above, the Court believes that this indirect linkage should be maintained. The Court, therefore, recommends that the pay of the grade of CTC Signal Person, associated with this claim, be set at £25,792 (32,749.08 Euro) per annum for a 39 hour contract with pro-rata adjustments for contracts of longer duration.
Duration of Contracts.
In the case of the Driver Grades contracts of 43,45 and 48 hours were offered on the basis of that attendance pattern being in line with the operational requirements of the Company in respect of those grades. In the present case, more flexibility is required in the rostering arrangements available to the Company.
The Court recommends that the duration of hours contracts should be determined by reference to the operational needs of the Company subject to a minimum of 39 hours and a maximum of 48 hours. The Court does not, therefore, recommend concession of the Unions' claim that contracts be confined to ones of 40 hours duration.
Pay for New Entrants.
In their submissions to the Court, the Unions have expressed strong opposition to the Company's proposal to put a separate salary scale in place for new entrants to the grade.
The Court acknowledges that similar arrangements to those proposed by the Company in respect of the grades associated with this claim have been agreed in respect of other grades. The Court also accepts that the introduction of a salary scale for new entrants represents an important cost mitigation measure which the Company is legitimately entitled to pursue.
Nonetheless, the Court is conscious of the degree of opposition which exists to these proposed arrangements, and is of the view that further discussions should take place with a view to elongating the proposed salary scale so as to provide that new entrants have the potential to progress to pay levels comparable to those recommended for existing staff.
Future Pay Determination.
In previous related recommendations, the Court has found it necessary to comment critically on the decision of the parties to constitute each grade or category of employees as a separate negotiating units for the purpose of the current negotiations. The inherent difficulties caused by this approach were also adverted to in the report prepared jointly by the Court and the Labour Relations Commission on issues arising from the dispute involving the ILDA in 2000. More recently, the special expert group appointed by the Minister for Public Enterprise to enquire into industrial relations within the Company, came to a similar conclusion to that reached by the Court and recommended a major streamlining of negotiating structures.
If that objective is to be achieved, it will necessitate the application to all groups of a transparent and uniform approach to future pay determination. In formulating its recommendations in the present series of referrals, the Court has been mindful of this imperative. Whilst separate recommendations are being issued in each case, they are all based on the same underlying rationale and, if accepted, will have the effect of providing a framework of internal pay linkages which could be relied upon in future negotiations. This, it is hoped, will facilitate the parties in re-establishing unified and coherent bargaining and decision-making structures within the Company.
The Court strongly recommends that on acceptance of these recommendations, the parties should commit to the establishment of unified negotiating structures, and should enter into immediate discussion on the establishment of such structures.
Finally, the stance adopted by the Unions in the present series of claims was directed at maintaining the internal integrity of the Company's pay structure. The strategy which the Court has adopted in the nine recommendations which it has issued is largely supportive of that position.
It should be clear that this strategy will be fatally undermined if any one of the recommendations in this series is rejected. The Court would, therefore, urge the Unions to consider adopting arrangements for deciding on these recommendations which will maximise the possibility of obtaining a common outcome in respect of all groups.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Kevin Duffy
5th September, 2001______________________
MO'C/BRDeputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Marian O'Connell, Court Secretary.