CD/24/10 | DECISION NO. LCR22984 |
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS 1946 TO 2015
SECTION 13(9), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1969
PARTIES:
GRANT ENGINEERING (IRELAND) UNLIMITED COMPANY
(REPRESENTED BY IBEC)
AND
A WORKER
(REPRESENTED BY SIPTU)
DIVISION:
Chairman: | Mr Foley |
Employer Member: | Ms Doyle |
Worker Member: | Ms Tanham |
SUBJECT:
Appeal of Adjudication Officer Decision No's: ADJ-00044826 (IR-SC- 00001174)
BACKGROUND:
The Worker appealed the Adjudication Officer’s Recommendation to the Labour Court on 12 January 2024 in accordance with Section 13(9) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969.
On 13 December 2023 the Adjudication Officer issued the following Recommendation.
“Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
I find in favour of the Worker in relation to this dispute. Regarding redress, I recommend that the Employer pay the Worker the sum of €1,000 in respect of entirely avoidable delays arising from this process. In addition to the same, I recommend that a meeting under stage two of the policy be convened within two weeks of the date below, should the Worker wish to maintain his initial grievance’’
A Labour Court hearing took place on 02 May 2024.
DECISION:
The matter comes before the Court as an appeal of a decision of an Adjudication Officer under the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969.
The worker submits that he raised an issue with his supervisor regarding an alleged failure on the part of the employer to pay him the sum of €5.92 per day on days when he was assigned to testing in the welding area.
The employer submits that the worker never raised an issue through the grievance procedure in place in the employment.
The trade dispute before the Court concerns the worker’s contention that the employer did not operate its grievance procedure in the manner set down in the written procedure in place in the employment. The employer rejects that assertion and contends that the worker himself did not operate the procedure in the manner set down.
The Court notes that the matter giving rise to the original grievance has been raised as a matter of law following a series of complaints made by the worker under the Payment of Wages Act, 1991. It is the Court’s understanding that the justiciable complaints of the worker are before the Court itself have been determined as a matter of law.
In all the circumstances the Court considers that it is inappropriate to conflate matters which form the substance of a series of justiciable complaints under law with matters described as a trade dispute in the voluntarist framework.
In all the circumstances, the Court decides that, as a result of the fact that the grievance underpinning this trade dispute is in the course of being determined in law, the matters giving rise to the within industrial relations trade dispute should be regarded as resolved.
The decision of the Adjudication Officer is set aside.
The Court so decides.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court | |
Kevin Foley | |
AR | ______________________ |
17 June 2024 | Chairman |
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Decision should be addressed to Aidan Ralph, Court Secretary.