FULL RECOMMENDATION
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1990 SECTION 20(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1969 PARTIES : AN POST - AND - A WORKER DIVISION : Chairman: Ms Jenkinson Employer Member: Mr Murphy Worker Member: Mr Shanahan |
1. Retrospective Payment of 12.5% Allowance.
BACKGROUND:
2. The Claimant is a Post Office Clerk and joined An Post in 1980. The case concerns the non-payment of a 12.5% change allowance to the Claimant for the period between June 2002 and December 2003. Management argue that the appropriate terms were applied to the Claimant and that the terms of Labour Court Recommendation LCR18817 have been fully met.
On the 2nd July 2014 the Worker referred the issue to the Labour Court in accordance with Section 20(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969. A Labour Court hearing took place on the 30th October, 2014.
WORKER'S ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. Post Office Division Workers got a 12.5% allowance from June 2002 while colleagues in the Letter Post Division got the allowance from December 2003. The anomaly in the backdating has created an accumulated €5,000 pay difference between both groups of Workers.
2. Both Divisions were amalgamated in December 2013and the pay anomalyhas yet to be addressed in the interest of fair/equal treatment.
EMPLOYER'S ARGUMENTS:
4. 1. The Employer has complied fully with the pay and assimilation terms of the various agreements over the years.
2. The Court has already adjudicated on the matter and has issued a Recommendation which was complied with in full.
RECOMMENDATION:
The matter before the Court was brought under Section 20(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 and concerns a claim by a Worker for the payment of retrospection of an allowance which was agreed in respect of employees working in different sections of the business than the Claimant in 2002. In his claim before the Court the Claimant sought payment of this allowance for the period from June 2002 until December 2003. The allowance was paid to the Claimant following a Labour Court Recommendation which was issued on 18thJanuary 2007 (LCR No:18817). At the time the Court recommended that the allowance should be backdated to 1stDecember 2003.
The Claimant submitted to the Court that due to a recent amalgamation of sections within the organisation the allowance should now be paid to him for the intervening period between June 2002 until December 2003.
Management rejected the Claimant’s claim and submitted that this issue was comprehensively dealt with by Labour Court Recommendation No:18817.
Having considered the submissions of both sides the Court is satisfied that the issue of retrospection of the allowance for Workers including the Claimant was fully and comprehensively dealt with by the Court Labour Court Recommendation No:18817. That Recommendation was accepted by both sides and fully implemented at the time. The Claimant was a beneficiary of that Recommendation. In such circumstances the Court sees no merit in the Claimant’s claim and accordingly rejects the claim.
The Court so Recommends.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Caroline Jenkinson
17th November 2014______________________
JFDeputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to John Foley, Court Secretary.