LCR23015

PARTIES:

DIVISION:

SUBJECT:

Complaint under Section 20(1) Industrial Relations Act, 1969. Compensation sought.

BACKGROUND:

The Worker referred this case to the Labour Court on 15 December 2024 in accordance with Section 20 (1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969, and agreed to be bound by the Court’s Recommendation.

A Labour Court hearing took place on 16 July 2024.

RECOMMENDATION:

The Worker lodged a claim in relation to a trade dispute with her Employer to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) under Section13(9) of the Industrial Relations Act.  The Employer objected to a WRC Adjudication Officer investigating that matter. The Worker subsequently referred a claim to the Labour Court, in accordance with Section 20(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969, and so agreed to be bound by the Court's Recommendation.

A hearing of the Court was held on 16 July 2024.  The Employer declined the invitation to attend the hearing. Ibec, on behalf of the Employer, wrote to the Court in advance of the hearing stating that the company was declining to attend the hearing for a number of reasons, and that the matter in dispute is a collective issue relating to rates of pay for a body of workers.

At the hearing, the Worker’s representative confirmed that the claim affects a body of workers, the Field Staff Association (FSA), and not solely the named individual on the complaint form. The representative confirmed that there is an established disputes resolution procedure in place to address workplace disputes that encompasses individual and collective issues. 

The Worker’s representative said that the Employer had failed to engage with the workers in relation to their claim.

As the Employer did not attend the hearing, the Court was deprived of the opportunity to hear their views on that matter.

The Court notes that Ibec in its correspondence confirmed that the Employer was open to engaging with the FSA through its established disputes resolution procedure, which includes a provision for referral to the Workplace Relations Commission Conciliation Services and the Labour Court.

The long-standing position of the Labour Court is to uphold agreed and established dispute resolution procedures. The Court recommends that the parties return to their agreed procedures and process the within dispute in line with those procedures in a timely and proactive manner.

The Court so Recommends.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Katie Connolly
TH	______________________
22 July 2024	Deputy Chairman

NOTE

Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Therese Hickey, Court Secretary.