FULL RECOMMENDATION
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1990 SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : HSE - NATIONAL AMBULANCE SERVICE (NAS) - AND - SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION DIVISION : Chairman: Mr Hayes Employer Member: Mr Marie Worker Member: Mr McCarthy |
1. Deployment Of Resources To Loughglynn Ambulance Base, Co Roscommon
BACKGROUND:
2. This dispute concerns the deployment of resources to Loughglynn Ambulance Base, Co. Roscommon. This dispute could not be resolved at local level and was the subject of a Conciliation Conference under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission. As agreement was not reached, the dispute was referred to the Labour Court on the 24th June, 2016, in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. A Labour Court hearing took place on the 16th August, 2016.
UNION'S ARGUMENTS:
3.1. The terms that were agreed at the Workplace Relations Commission Conciliation Conference have not been honoured by Management.
2. Information which was to be shared between Management and the Union on a monthly basis has not been forthcoming.
EMPLOYER'S ARGUMENTS:
4.1. The agreement applies to all crews across the service. It does not just apply to crews from the Roscommon Ambulance base.
2. To ensure the optimum level of patient care and safety, National Emergency Operation Control must be allowed to manage the deployment of all crews across the service on a daily basis.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Court has given careful consideration to the submissions of both parties to this dispute.
The Court notes that the parties concluded an agreement under the auspices of the WRC on 19 January 2016 that governs the integration of the Loughlynn ambulance resource base into the National Ambulance Service.
That agreement provided for the operation under protest of the base as directed by management pending the collection and exchange of information regarding crew deployment to and from that base.
Management acknowledged that it had not met its commitments regarding the exchange of information set out in the agreement. However it confirmed that it had provided a significant amount of information with the Union in the days leading up to the matter coming before the Court. It also undertook to hereafter meet its obligations in this regard under the terms of the WRC Agreement.
The Court notes that the WRC Agreement makes provision for further engagement between the parties based on the information supplied to the Union by Management.
As the first tranche of the relevant information has now been passed to the Union the Court recommends that the parties engage, at the relevant forum, for the purpose of completing the “further discussions” set out in the WRC Agreement of 19 January 2016.
The Court further recommends that in those discussions the parties should also take into consideration recent agreements concluded between the Ambulance Service and the Unions involved.
Should the parties fail to reach agreement on the substantive matters in dispute within 3 months of the date of this Recommendation the matter should be referred back to the Court for a definitive recommendation.
The Court so recommends.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Brendan Hayes
17th August 2016______________________
JKDeputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Jason Kennedy, Court Secretary.