FULL RECOMMENDATION
SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANAGMENT AGENCY - AND - SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION DIVISION : Chairman: Mr Geraghty Employer Member: Mr Murphy Worker Member: Mr McCarthy |
1. Trade dispute relating to 1800 Firefighters.
BACKGROUND:
2. Retained part-time fire brigades make up approximately 70% of the fire service in Ireland, with full-time Firefighters in major cities. Following the failure to resolve a trade dispute which was heard at the Workplace Relations Commission under section 26(1)(a)(b) of the Industrial Relations Act 1990, it was decided to refer the matter to the Labour Court on 30th of January 2019. A Labour Court hearing took place on 5th of April 2019.
UNION’S ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. The Union is seeking that vacant retained Firefighter Driver/Mechanic posts be filled by Management in accordance with established agreements and arrangements. Local Authority Management in a number of counties have failed to maintain these promotional posts, which has contributed to a worsening of the current recruitment and retention difficulties being experienced across the retained fire service.
2. The Union is seeking that the roles and responsibilities associated with the Driver/Mechanic post be maintained within the retained fire service in order to maintain adequate promotional opportunities across the service.
COMPANY'S ARGUMENTS:
4. 1. Management believe that the Driver/Mechanic role is now obsolete and have clearly advised SIPTU in the course of WRC discussions that it wishes to engage to discuss alternatives, which would reflect the needs of the service.
2. Management accept that there are a number of vacant posts at Driver/Mechanic level. However, they have indicated that to fill these posts on a permanent basis, whilst they have clearly indicated that they wish to move to suppress this grade going forward, is not logical.
3. The current structure is that there are 1302 fire-fighters at basic grade level and 762 Firefighters at higher grade. This provides a promotional opportunity of 1:1.7 which is a very high ratio.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is the clear and stated intention of the Employer to eliminate the grade of Driver Mechanic. The Union is willing to engage on the issue but has a concern to protect promotion opportunities and has immediate concerns about the protracted nature of discussions on the matter and also about the fact that a growing number of Driver Mechanic posts, which are promotional outlets for retained Fire Fighters, remain unfilled.
A further complication is that it is not yet fully clear what implications will arise for the service from the ‘Matzak’ judgement by the EU Court of Justice. In effect, that judgement indicates that time on stand-by amounts to working time. The Employer indicated to the Court that, as a result, they were not in a position to fill vacancies on a permanent basis. Both sides stated firmly to the Court that they were seeking agreement.
The Employer’s objective is to move towards the elimination of a grade. This objective is separate from the background of uncertainty regarding the future of the service but that uncertainty is making it difficult for them to conclude discussions.
The Union indicated a willingness to engage but sought that discussions be brought to a speedy conclusion and that vacant posts be filled.
Discussion took place at the Court hearing regarding the possibility of filling vacant Driver Mechanic positions on an ‘acting’ basis, pending the conclusion of a broader engagement. The Employer indicated a willingness to pursue this course in situations where the vacancies were causing a negative deviation from the standard staffing numbers but expressed opposition to filling vacancies in locations where, in their opinion, there was already an excess of posts in the grade.
Having considered all aspects of this matter, the Court recommends that the parties should resume engagement with a view to concluding an agreement on the future of the Driver Mechanic grade within six months of the date of this Recommendation. These discussions should take full account of the possible implications of the Matzak ruling for the future of the service.
In the meantime, the Court recommends that the parties engage immediately with a view to reaching agreement on the filling of some vacancies in the Driver Mechanic grade on an ‘acting’ basis, pending the conclusion of the substantive talks. The Court recommends that these discussions be concluded within six weeks of the date of this Recommendation.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Tom Geraghty
CH______________________
23rd April 2019Deputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Carol Hennessy, Court Secretary.