Worker

Employer

Anonymised Parties

A Primary School Teacher

A Government Department

Act

Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969

IR - SC - 00002555

28/04/2024

An issue has arisen with regard to my jurisdiction, as an adjudication officer, to conduct an investigation under s.13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969, where the person referring the dispute may not be entitled to have the dispute investigated.

Legislation to establish the Labour Court and other fundamental provisions to resolve industrial relations disputes was enacted in Ireland in the Industrial Relations Act 1946, “the principal Act.”  The Industrial Relations Act of 1969 established the role of the rights commissioner.  The disputes resolutions mechanisms of 1946 and 1969 were significantly overhauled in 1990, with a new Act which, among other provisions, established the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) and implemented significant changes to limit trade disputes.  The Workplace Relations Act 2015 established the WRC and introduced the role of the adjudication officer in place of rights commissioners.

This preamble is to provide a backdrop to the definition of “worker,” which was defined at part VI, s.66 of the principal Act as,

…any person of the age of fourteen years or upwards who has entered into or works under a contract with an employer whether the contract be for manual labour, clerical work or otherwise…other than,

(a) a person who is employed by or under the State, or

(b) a teacher in a secondary school, or

(c) a teacher in a national school, or…

(The remainder of this section is not relevant to the matter under consideration here.)

Section 4 of the principal Act was subsequently repealed and the definition of “worker,” for the purpose of s.13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969, is now provided at s.23(1) of the Act of 1990:

(1) In the Industrial Relations Acts, 1946 to 1976, and this Part, “worker” means a member of the Garda Síochána referred to in subsection (1A) and] any person aged 15 years or more who has entered into or works under (or, where the employment has ceased, worked under) a contract with an employer, whether the contract be for manual labour, clerical work or otherwise, whether it be expressed or implied, oral or in writing, and whether it be a contract of service or of apprenticeship or a contract personally to execute any work or labour including, in particular, a psychiatric nurse employed by a health board and any person designated for the time being under subsection (3) but does not include—

(a) a person who is employed by or under the State,

(b) a teacher in a secondary school,

(c) a teacher in a national school,

(ca) a teacher employed by an education and training board[.]

(The remainder of this section is not relevant to the matter under consideration here.)

From this, it is apparent that since 1946 and the passing of the principal Act, although there have been changes to the definition of “worker,” there has been no change to the status of teachers and, with some exceptions, persons “employed by or under the State,” as other than “workers.” 

Section 13(2) of the Industrial Relations Act 1969, provides for an investigation into a trade dispute: 

(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, where a trade dispute (other than a dispute connected with rates of pay of, hours or times of work of, or annual holidays of, a body of workers) exists or is apprehended and involves workers within the meaning of Part VI of the Principal Act, a party to the dispute may refer it to a rights commissioner.

As set out earlier, this responsibility transferred to an adjudication officer in accordance with s.40 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015.

It is evident that teachers in national schools and secondary schools, and most people employed by the State, such as civil servants, are not encompassed by the definition of “worker,” and, therefore, are not permitted to have a dispute between them and their employer investigated by an adjudication officer under s.13(2). 

Based on this finding, I am satisfied that I, as the adjudication officer to whom this dispute was assigned for investigation, have no jurisdiction to conduct such an investigation and the date scheduled for a hearing must be vacated.

I have concluded that I have no jurisdiction to conduct an investigation where one of the parties to the dispute is not a “worker,” as defined by s.23(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1990.  I recommend therefore that the teacher consults with her trade union to consider if there are other options to have her grievance resolved.

Definition of “worker,” jurisdiction under s.13(2) of the Industrial Relations Act 1969