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FULL RECOMMENDATION
SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : IRISH RAIL/IARNROD EIREANN
- AND - 8 PATROL GANGERS (REPRESENTED BY SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION) DIVISION : Chairman: Ms O'Donnell Employer Member: Ms Doyle Worker Member: Mr Hall |
1. Integration Issue
BACKGROUND:
2. 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. The dispute was referred to the Labour Court on 25 June 2019 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. A Labour Court hearing took place on 8 August 2019.
RECOMMENDATION :
The issue in dispute between the parties is Management's proposal to integrate patrol gangers in Division 13 into mobile gangs as provided for under the 2000 New Deal Agreement.
Employer’s Position
The Employer's position is that integration is a key efficiency measure of the 2000 New Deal. 27 out of the 28 Divisions have now integrated and it is the Company’s position that it is no longer tenable or financially viable for one Division in this case Division 13 to remain unintegrated nearly 20 years after accepting the deal.
Union’s Position
It is the Union’s position that in relation to Division 13 a commitment was given locally back in 1999 that integration would not take place until CWR was completed. As CWR is not completed in their division they do not believe they should integrate into the mobile gangs.
Discussion
Both parties gave a detailed background to the 2000 New Deal and how issues had progressed since then in term of Divisions moving to integration. It was not disputed that within the Districts that had integrated there was still jointed track and the amount varied from Division to Division. Management informed the Court that the monitoring of this type of track within the integrated Divisions was dealt with by “supplemental walking”. It was not disputed by the Union that the National 2000 New Deal did not contain a clause requiring that all CWR within a division had to be completed before patrol gangers were required to integrate. The Court notes that the local commitment being relied on by the patrol gangers in Division 13 was given in 1999.
It is the view of the Court that that commitment was superseded by the National New Deal done in 2000 and therefore cannot be relied on. The Court therefore recommends that the patrol gangers in Division 13 integrate into mobile gangs with effect from 1st January 2020 in line with the existing agreements.
The Court so recommends.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Louise O'Donnell
FMc ______________________
13th August 2019 Deputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Fiona McCarthy, Court Secretary.