FULL RECOMMENDATION
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 2004 SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION & SCIENCE - AND - IRISH MUNICIPAL, PUBLIC AND CIVIL TRADE UNION DIVISION : Chairman: Mr McGee Employer Member: Mr Murphy Worker Member: Mr Nash |
1. Re-grading of Maintenance Officers.
BACKGROUND:
2. The case before the Court concerns a dispute between the Department of Education and Science and IMPACT in relation to the applicable rate of pay for Maintenance Supervisors employed in Children's Detention schools. The Union is claiming that a link had been established under the Programme for Competitiveness and Work (PCW) which aligned Maintenance Supervisors in the Childrens Detention schools to Maintenance Officers employed by the then Health Boards (currently the Health Service Executive). Maintenance Supervisors in the chidrens detention schools were then aligned to the admin Grade V salary scale. The role of Maintenance Officer in the HSE was subsequently reviewed and upgraded to admin Grade VI. The Union is seeking the regrading of its members to admin Grade VI on the basis of the established linkage.
The Department's position is that the regrading is inappropriate as the Benchmarking process severed all links between the posts and Section 19.24 of Sustaining Progress states that this had been accepted by all parties involved in the process. The claimants had already been regraded to admin Grade V.
The dispute could not be resolved at local level and was the subject of a conciliation conference under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission. As there was no agreement the matter was referred to the Labour Court on 14th October 2005 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. A Labour Court hearing took place on 15th March 2006, the earliest date suitable to the parties.
UNION'S ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. The linkage between the two groups has been established since 1997. Maintenance staff in both organisations do identical work and the pay rates of the Maintenance Officers in the HSE should also apply to the Maintenance Supervisors in the Children Detention schools.
2. The link between identical jobs should remain in place. The Benchmarking process did not preclude links remaining where the duties and responsibilities of a particular post were identical.
COMPANY'S ARGUMENTS:
4. 1. The Benchmarking Process severed the links between the posts. The subsequent regrading of Maintenance Officers in the Health Service and the application of the admin Grade VI payscale to those workers bears no relevance to the claimants as they have previously been regraded to admin Grade V and have also been paid the increases due under Benchmarking.
2. The claim is cost increasing and precluded under Sustaining Progress.
RECOMMENDATION:
Having considered the submissions of the parties and the provisions of clause 19.24 of Sustaining Progress concerning Benchmarking, which states, inter alia, that " it was accepted when establishing this process [benchmarking] that cross-sectoral relativities were incompatible with such an approach and the parties agree that such relativities no longer apply and that as stated in the report of the Public Service Benchmarking Body:-" The Body's recommendations on remuneration of the benchmarked grades have the effect of severing all previous pay links and establishing new absolute levels of pay of each of those grades" and the Court is therefore of the view that the Union's claim cannot succeed and does not accordingly recommend concession of the claim.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Raymond McGee
11th April 2006______________________
AHDeputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Andrew Heavey, Court Secretary.