FULL RECOMMENDATION
SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : IARNR�D ÉIREANN - AND - 30 TRAIN HOSTS (REPRESENTED BY NATIONAL BUS AND RAIL UNION SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION) DIVISION : Chairman: Mr Haugh Employer Member: Ms Doyle Worker Member: Ms Treacy |
1. Rate of pay for Train Hosts.
BACKGROUND:
2. This dispute relates to a proposal by the Company to extend the revenue collection functions currently performed by Train Hosts.
The Union said that the Workers should be placed on a 48-hour contract.
The Employer said that it’s final offer was a 46-hour contract, once off lump sum of €1000 and new rosters would be redesigned and agreed locally.
- 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 17 April 2019 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990.
A Labour Court hearing took place on 28 June 2019.
UNIONS ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. The Train Host Grade was established in 2006 upon the introduction of the then new MK IV trains and following the withdrawal of Guards from trains.
2. In 2011 following a Company proposal, the Train Hosts could not agree to issue tickets or collect revenue throughout the train citing safety as one of the concerns.
3 Following discussions in 2017 / 2018 the Company offered moving from a 44-hour contract to a 46-hour rate of pay. The Workers should be placed on a 48-hour contract which applies to all Train Drivers.
EMPLOYER'S ARGUMENTS:
- 1. The Train Host is comparable to a Travelling Ticket Checker whose role included selling tickets throughout the train.
2. The rate proposed will increase a Train Hosts pay by 4.5% yearly. This is on top of the 7.5% increase over 3 years included as part of LCR21605.
3. Included as part of the proposal is a lead in payment of €1,000 which is an increase in what was included as part of the 2011 WRC proposal.
RECOMMENDATION:
Background to the Dispute
The within dispute has been in being since 2011 and has its origins in a proposal by Iarnr�d Éireann (‘the Company’) to extend the revenue collection functions currently performed by Train Hosts. Proposals to settle the dispute were recommended on two occasions by the Conciliation Service of the Labour Relations Commission/Workplace Relations Commission in 2011 and 2018, respectively. Both proposals were rejected following a ballot of the Workers concerned., notwithstanding the reference in the 2018 proposal to it being “the most optimum outcome to the parties in the particular circumstances in this case for the current complement of staff inclusive of vacancies to be filled without delay.”
There are nineteen Train Hosts employed by the Company at present. However, the Company proposes to recruit up to eleven additional workers into this grade in the near future, pending the resolution of the within dispute. The Hosts are based out of Cork and Heuston Stations and operate on the Mark IV service on the Cork-Dublin line. Train Hosts are responsible for all aspects of customers’ comfort and security including ensuring that all on-board facilities are operating correctly. The rate of pay for a Train Host is €871.16 based on a 44-hour contract on the standard 39- Hour Scale.
At present, Train Hosts perform limited revenue collection on behalf of the Company. They do this in the first-class carriages only. The Company wishes to have that function performed by Train Hosts throughout the full train. In return for acceptance of this extension of their functions, the Company has proposed to increase the Train Hosts’ weekly remuneration to €910.00 per week based on a 46-hour contract on the S39 Hour Scale (equivalent to a 4.5% pay rise) and to make a once-off lump sum payment of €1,000.00. The Unions are seeking a 48-hour contract for their members.
Recommendation
The Court notes that the proposal which emanated from the conciliation process in December 2018 was accepted by the Representatives on both sides as “the most optimum outcome to the parties in the particular circumstances in this case for the current complement of staff inclusive of vacancies to be filled without delay.” That proposal provided, inter alia, for a 46-hour week contract for Train Hosts and payment of a lump sum of €1,000.00 “in full and final settlement of this long-standing issue”.
The Court recommends acceptance of the aforementioned terms in full and final settlement of the within dispute.
The Court so recommends.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Alan Haugh
CR______________________
18 July, 2019Deputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Ciaran Roche, Court Secretary.