FULL RECOMMENDATION
SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : C�RAS IOMPAIR ÉIREANN (CIE) - AND - TRANSPORT SALARIED STAFFS' ASSOCIATION SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION DIVISION : Chairman: Mr Haugh Employer Member: Mr Murphy Worker Member: Mr Hall |
1. Pay claim in accordance with LCR21605 awarded to the staff of Iarnr�d Éireann.
BACKGROUND:
2. This dispute concerns a pay claim in accordance with LCR21605 awarded to the staff of Iarnr�d Éireann.
In February/March 2015 the Group of Unions balloted their members on a cost recovery proposal which was rejected by their members. The Company said that this broke the historic link to the Iarnr�d Éireann model of pay and that only those who volunteered to forego pay should receive the pay awarded in LCR21605.
- 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 14 May 2018 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990.
A Labour Court hearing took place on the 21 June 2018.
UNIONS ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. It has been 10 years since the Unions members have had any pay increase.
2. Their members should not be punished for “not volunteering to a pay cut” especially when the accepted industrial relations process had yet to be concluded.
3.The Unions said that in the interests of good industrial relations, the pay of all its members should be aligned with that of their colleagues in Iarnr�d Éireann. They indicated to the Court that they would be prepared to accept a six-month pay freeze prior to application of the ‘Iarnr�d Éireann’ pay award.
EMPLOYER'S ARGUMENTS:
- 1. The Employer said that historically the Holding Company was linked to Iarnr�d Éireann and therefore the Company sought to mirror the final phase of cost reductions as presented to the Iarnr�d Éireann staff in 2014.
2. The Group of Unions claimed there was no historic link between the Holding Company and Iarnr�d Éireann.
3. Over the course of the Holding Company Forego Period, which ended in May 2017, a total of 44 staff accepted the continuation of the ‘link’ and in turn received the Iarnr�d Éireann pay award which applied from December 2017.
RECOMMENDATION:
The within dispute concerns a pay claim in respect of Workers employed by C�ras Iompar Éireann (‘the Company’). Both the Unions and the Company are in agreement that, historically, there was a linkage between pay of Workers employed by the Company and those employed by one of its operating companies, Iarnr�d Éireann.
Workers employed in the latter company (and those employed in the other two group operating companies – Bus Átha Cliath and Bus Éireann) experienced varying degrees of Pay Forego during the period 2009 to 2016. In 2014, the Company proposed the introduction of Pay Forego to mirror that accepted by the Workers in Iarnr�d Éireann. The proposal was rejected by a majority of the Workers in a ballot. Thereafter, the Company offered Workers the option of accepting Pay Forego on a voluntary opt-in basis. Forty-four workers opted in. Those who did not opt in were informed in writing by the Company that they would not automatically benefit from any general improvements in their terms and conditions in line with any such improvements introduced in Iarnr�d Éireann.
In December 2017, the Labour Court (in LCR21605) recommended a series of pay increases at Iarnr�d Éireann: 2.5% from 1 December 2017; 2.5% from 1 December 2018; and 2.5% from 1 December 2019. The Court also recommended a ‘once-off’ goodwill gesture in the form of a voucher to the value of €500.00 to be paid in December 2017. The forty-four workers who opted to accept Pay Forego received a commensurate pay increase in 2017. They also received the €500.00 voucher
Parties’ Submissions
The Unions submit that their members should not be punished for not opting in to Pay Forego in 2014. They also submit that in the interests of good industrial relations, the pay of all its members in the Company should be aligned with that of their colleagues in Iarnr�d Éireann. They indicated to the Court that they would be prepared to accept a six-month pay freeze prior to application of the ‘Iarnr�d Éireann’ pay award.
The Company submits that, in the case of those Workers who did not volunteer for Pay Forego in 2014, the historical link between their terms and conditions and those of colleagues in Iarnr�d Éireann has been broken. On that basis, it requested the Court recommend one of the following two options:
- •The Unions accept the existence of the link with Iarnr�d Éireann and accordingly accept the Pay Forego prior to the application of the linked pay award; or
•The Parties agree the need for the establishment of an Internal Resolution Board to determine all collective issues, including the within pay claim.
Recommendation
Having considered the Parties’ detailed written and verbal submissions, the Court – in the interests of re-establishing standardised pay rates across the grades in the Company as soon as possible - recommends that the following pay increases should be granted to the Workers who are the subject of the dispute:
- •2.5% with effect from 1 December 2018; and
•2.5% with effect from 1 December 2019.
The Court so recommends.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Alan Haugh
CR______________________
29 June, 2018Deputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Ciaran Roche, Court Secretary.