LCR23228

PARTIES:

DIVISION:

SUBJECT:

Complaint under Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1990.

BACKGROUND:

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 21st of July 2025 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990.

A Labour Court hearing took place on the 12th of February 2026.

RECOMMENDATION:

The matter before the Court relates to a dispute about a change in work practices

Union Position

The Council has failed to adhere to an agreement regarding appropriate staffing levels for two Pick-Up trucks which were introduced following the extension of the Cork City boundary in 2019.

At the time, SIPTU accepted a management proposal that staff numbers for each vehicle consisted of one driver helper and two general operative per truck. A Dirt Allowance applies to staff on truck duties worth approximately €740 to each individual per annum.

With the introduction of COVID-19 measures, it was agreed that staffing numbers would reduce to two staff members per vehicle for health and safety reasons. Management gave an undertaking that original staffing levels would be reinstated once Covid restrictions lifted. The Council failed to honour this commitment when restrictions were lifted in May 2023.

As a result of managements actions, and by virtue of the number of truck workers remaining at two, members have been denied an opportunity to receive the Dirt Allowance.

Council Position

Pick-Up trucks were introduced into the Cleansing department in mid-June 2019 and for an initial period of eight to nine months the trucks operated with three members of staff. The staffing level was adjusted to two persons per vehicle at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This staffing level has remained the established practice for the past five and a half years, as it is the most effective operational model for the Council.

SIPTU has not provided any documentation to support its assertion that there was a collective agreement with management that staffing numbers on vehicles would revert from two persons per vehicle back to three, once COVID-19 restrictions lifted.

The 2006 Street Cleaning Service plan, agreed with SIPTU, states: - “Management reserve the right at all times to deploy/ redeploy staff either temporarily or permanently to the best benefit of the operation". Staffing levels must remain flexible to address daily operational changes.

Recommendation

The Court has carefully considered the written and oral submissions of the parties.

In this case, the Councils relies on a 2006 collective agreement to determine the appropriate staffing levels for Pick-Up trucks. For its part, SIPTU accepts that there is no documentation to support its contention that the parties entered into a formal collective agreement on staffing levels for Pick-Up trucks. Its position is that when the trucks were introduced in 2019, proposed staffing levels were verbally agreed in good faith. While it accepts that the Council has the right to redeploy staff as per the terms of the 2006 Collective Agreement, it contends that the Council should have engaged in a consultation process with the Union about any proposed work practice changes, when Covid restrictions lifted in 2023.

The long-standing position of the Labour Court is to uphold collective agreements in place between parties, unless requested by both parties to do otherwise. In the absence of any supporting information, the Court cannot support the Union’s contention that it entered into a formal agreement on staffing levels for Pick-Up trucks. In light of the submissions made, the Court cannot find that the Council breached or contravened a collective agreement and can see no justifiable basis upon which it could recommend concession of that aspect of the Union’s claim.

The Court notes the comments made by both parties about the generally constructive industrial relations environment in the employment. The Union contends that in this case there has been a lack of engagement by the Council in relation to the matter in dispute. While that assertion was disputed by the Council, it appears to the Court that the level of engagement and consultation between parties in relation to staffing levels for Pick-Up trucks appears to be lacking, such that it led to a dispute about that matter coming before this Court. 

Having regard to all of the circumstances of this dispute, the Court recommends that the parties engage with a view to establishing a shared understanding of the staffing levels for Pick-Up trucks.

The Court so recommends.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Katie Connolly
AR	______________________
19 February 2026	Deputy Chairman

NOTE

Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be in writing and addressed to Mr Aidan Ralph, Court Secretary.