FULL RECOMMENDATION
PARTIES : HSE MAYO UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL DIVISION :
SUBJECT: 1.(1) Emergency on-call restructuring (HSE referral) 1.The Employer proposal involves the separation of the Acute Hospital and CHW emergency on-call work activity. The Employer claims that this will result in greater fairness and equity in access to emergency on-call earnings within the separate teams. 2. The Employer claims that the change in call-out frequency will ensure enhanced work / life balance and that any resulting loss of earnings will be dealt with in accordance with the compensation formula in the PSA. 3. The Employer claims there is no basis to the claim for paying on-call to Carpenters as they are not required to be on-call. RECOMMENDATION: The issue in dispute between the parties relates to changes to the emergency out of hours on-call maintenance operations at Mayo University Hospital (MUH) and the provision of emergency out of hours on-call maintenance operations at Community Healthcare West (CHW). Management are now seeking to have the out of hours service mirror the daytime service and to have more Worker’s included in the on-call arrangement. The issue was referred to the Labour court under section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1990 and in accordance with the Public Sector Agreement, for a ‘binding outcome’. It is the Employer’s position that having implemented the decision to separate MUH and CHW it makes operational sense for the emergency out of hours service to operate on the same basis. They also believe that access to working the on-call emergency service should be expanded to all staff with the relevant qualifications. The Employer does not dispute that when they were initially seeking to change the maintenance structure and the issue had come before the Labour Court LCR21940 they had indicated that the proposed changes would not impact the on-call arrangement. However, now that the change has bedded down and there are more staff available to go on the on-call roster it makes operational sense for both MUH and CHW to have their own on-call emergency arrangements staffed with their own staff rather than staff having to work across the two areas. There are also issues arising from the fact that MUH and CHW now have separate budgets and ensuring that the costs of the on-call service are attributed to the correct budget. The Employer accepts that some staff will experience loss of earnings and are committed to addressing any such loss in line with the arrangement set out in the Public Service Agreement. In respect of the second issue set out by the Union, the Employer does not have a requirement for carpenters to be on call they are not what would be considered by either MUH or CHW to be an on- call grade. The number of times they would be required to work out of hours in any given year is minimal and this is dealt with through the payment of overtime. The employer sees no basis to change this arrangement. It is the Union’s position that the current emergency out of hours emergency on-call arrangement is working fine and there is no need to change same. It is their submission that nothing has changed since the Employer gave the commitment in March 2019 that the separation of the Acute Hospital and the Community would not impact on the out of hours arrangements that existed. It is the Unions submission that they have no issue with additional staff being added to the roster once the Worker’s currently on the roster receive compensation for any losses that arise from the change. In respect of the Carpenters, it is the Union’s submission that although they have never been paid on call allowance there contact details are left at the switch. There are three carpenters doing the on call and that over the last year they have been called out approximately sixty times each. It is the Union’s submission that the carpenters should be paid the on-call allowance. The Court having considered the submissions of the parties recommends that the issues in respect of the on-call emergency hours be dealt with in two phases. Phase one all eligible staff should have access on a voluntary basis to the on- call emergency roster and the payments attached to that roster with effect from 1stJanuary 2022. Prior to that date there should be engagement between the parties in respect of how the new roster will operate. Any losses arising to Worker’s impacted by this change should be dealt with in accordance with the Public Service Agreement. The second phase which will separate the on-call roster into separate rosters i.e one for MUH and one for CWH should come into effect from 1stJanuary 2023. Again, the parties should engage in advance of same to iron out any practical difficulties that might arise. Any loss arising from this change should also be dealt with under the Public Service Agreement. In respect of the Carpenter's claim the Court does not recommend concession of that claim at this point in time. The Court so Recommends.
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