FULL RECOMMENDATION
SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL - AND - A GROUP OF WORKERS (REPRESENTED BY SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION AND F�RSA) DIVISION : Chairman: Ms Jenkinson Employer Member: Mr Murphy Worker Member: Ms Treacy |
1. Claim for previous service - National Ambulance Service (NAS).
BACKGROUND:
2. 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 24 October 2018 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. A Labour Court hearing took place on 10 January 2019.
UNIONS ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. The Unions submitted that previous service as Paramedics is analogous service similar to the analogous service recognised in relation to retained firefighters.
2. Management has recognised NAS service for the purposes of calculating their pensions.
EMPLOYER'S ARGUMENTS:
4. 1. Dublin City Council submit that while the training the Claimants received with the NAS was important the role in Dublin Fire Brigade was primarily firefighting.
2. Dublin City Council offered an element of service recognition after seven years with Dublin City Fire and Emergency Service.
RECOMMENDATION:
The matter before the Court concerns a claim by SIPTU and Forsa on behalf of four Firefighters/Paramedics employed by Dublin City Fire and Emergency Service (the Dublin Fire Brigade) for recognition of their previous service for incremental credit purposes for the time they were employed as Paramedics with the National Ambulance Service (the NAS). The Unions sought to have the Claimants’ previous service in the NAS deemed as analogous service and therefore be credited with incremental credit recognition when assimilated into the Dublin Fire Brigade. They referred to Department of Environment, Community & Local Government Circular EL 05/2016“Starting Pay on Recruitment through Open Competition to the Public Sector – Appointment of Existing Public Servants Serving in Analogous Grades”.
This Circular provided that with effect from 1stFebruary 2016:
- “where an appointee has been serving elsewhere in the public service in an analogous grade and pay-scale and will be moving without break to another part of the public sector at an analogous grade, the appointment may be made at the appointee’s current point of scale. This means that such appointees should be assimilate on their current pay point.”
The Unions sought application of the principle contained in Circular EL 05/2016 in this case.
Management rejected the claim. It stated that while it accepted that the training the Claimants received with the NAS was important for their role in the Dublin Fire Brigade, however, it maintained that the firefighting was the primary role of Firefighters/Paramedics with the Dublin Fire Brigade. Management offered an element of service recognition to apply after seven years with the Dublin Fire Brigade.
Management stated that any person joining the Dublin Fire Brigade as a recruit may have a number of different emergency medical course qualifications prior to taking up the job, however, none of these courses are eligibility requirements for the Firefighter competition. Management disputed that Paramedics with NAS experience were analogous grades for the purposes of recognition of incremental credit.
To address the claim, Management had offered to extend its policy on incremental credit to the Claimants whereby an element of incremental credit is awarded after seven years’ service to recognise prior Local Authority service.
Having considered the submissions made by both parties the Court finds that the salary scale of Paramedics in the NAS and the salary scale of Firefighters/Paramedics employed by the Dublin Fire Brigade are not analogous in accordance with Circular EL 05/2016. Furthermore, the Court notes that when the Claimants, who are all experienced NAS Paramedics, succeeded in the competition for the Firefighters/Paramedics roles they were placed at the first point on the scale thereby incurring a reduction in their pay on recruitment to the Dublin Fire Brigade.
The Court notes that based on their experience and skills these Claimants were exempted from the paramedic training provided by the Dublin Fire Brigade and therefore their training time was substantially reduced and confined to firefighting skills.
There is no dispute that the Claimants are highly skilled Paramedics who continue to work in the public sector and whose prior training and experience are regarded as sufficient to bypass such training when they join the Dublin Fire Brigade. In such circumstances, the Court is of the view that it would be unreasonable for the Claimants to incur a reduction in pay on recruitment to the Dublin Fire Brigade. Accordingly, the Court recommends that the parties should engage with one another to either eliminate this disparity and establish assimilation terms or to accept Management’s offer if more beneficial to the Claimants. The Court does not envisage this matter arising for any other occupational category joining the Dublin Fire Brigade.
The Court recommends that this exercise should be completed by 10thMarch 2019. In the event that the issue is not resolved between the parties, the parties may return to the Court for a definitive Recommendation on the Unions’ claim.
The Court so Recommends.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Caroline Jenkinson
LS______________________
8 February 2019Deputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Louise Shally, Court Secretary.