LCR22784

1. Recruitment, retention and related matters.

BACKGROUND:

2. This dispute came before the Labour Court in accordance with Section 26(5) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. A hearing took place on 26 June, 2023.

RECOMMENDATION:

Background

The Court became aware through media reports of the existence of ongoing industrial action involving the retained firefighter service with effect from mid-June 2023. It appeared from media reports that the trade dispute between the parties would lead to a complete withdrawal of labour by the members of the trade union on 27^th June 2023. It was the understanding of the Court from media reports also that a loss of service from the Retained Fire Service would result in real and identifiable risks to the safety of the citizen and property.

On the basis of this apparent situation, the Court invited the Trade Union and the Employer to attend at the Court on 19^th June 2023 in order that the Court might be apprised of all of the circumstances of the dispute such that it could consider how, if at all, the Court could assist the parties in finding a resolution to their dispute. Both parties responded positively to that invitation and the Trade Union, at the request of the Court, agreed to suspend any ongoing industrial action that was due to take place on the day of the meeting with the Court.

The Court met with the parties separately on 19^th June 2023 and both parties engaged in good faith and constructively such that the Court, at the conclusion of those exploratory discussions, was in a position to make a decision as regards the exercise of its statutory functions as set out in Section 26(5) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990.

The Court, following consultation with the Workplace Relations Commission as required by the statute, decided, in accordance with Section 26(5) of the 1990 Act, to investigate the trade dispute of the parties because of the existence of exceptional circumstances.

In coming to that conclusion, the Court noted that:

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  • The normal agreed industrial relations procedures of the parties, regularly exercised, involve a referral to the Workplace Relations Commission where local agreement is not achieved in relation to any matter and a referral to the Labour Court where an agreement is not achieved at conciliation with the Workplace Relations Commission.

  • The parties had not engaged at conciliation in the workplace Relations Commission prior to the serving of notice of industrial action.

  • The parties had made no request to the Labour Court to investigate the trade dispute prior to the service of notice of industrial action.

  • The parties are party to a voluntarily concluded collective agreement wherein it has been undertaken that no cost increasing claims would be served on the employer within the lifetime of that agreement and no industrial action would take place in relation to any matter covered by that agreement within the lifetime of the agreement. The parties’ collective agreement is due to expire on 31^st December 2023.

  • The parties have not engaged with their jointly operated procedures (PSAG / TIB) to resolve any dispute which might exist between them as regards interpretation of their collective agreement.

  • The parties have both accepted a report completed in December 2022 entitled “Retained Fire Services in Ireland - A Review of Recruitment and Retention and the Future Sustainability of Service Delivery” and its thirteen recommendations.

  • The parties are party to a joint forum which has established a joint Union / Management process to oversee the full implementation of the Recommendations contained in the December 2022 Report. Both parties are participating in that joint process which is, apparently, being facilitated by an independent party appointed by the parties to the within trade dispute.

Accordingly, the Court advised the parties that it would investigate the trade dispute and requested the Trade Union to suspend the planned escalation of industrial action on 20^th June 2023 to allow the Court to carry out that investigation. The Trade union responded constructively to that request and agreed to suspend any escalation of industrial action and to minimise the industrial action which had been ongoing since mid-June 2023.

The hearing of the Court

The Court has carefully considered the written and oral submissions of the parties. It is clear that the capacity of the parties to find a resolution to the dispute is affected by their differing interpretations as regards the meaning of their joint voluntarily reached collective agreement entitled “Building Momentum”. That collective agreement has application across all public service employers and workers by voluntary agreement of those parties.

The Trade Union submitted that immediate changes to a range of matters were required along with a road map to allow the continuation of joint engagement with the assistance of the jointly agreed facilitator to achieve full implementation of the jointly accepted thirteen recommendations of the December 2022 report. The Trade Union submitted that significant immediate progress is required in relation to the value of the fixed Retainer payment paid to Firefighters as well as other matters.

The employer side, while accepting that the Retained fire service faces challenges in terms of recruitment and retention, emphasised the primacy of the parties’ collective agreement - “Building Momentum” - but also pointed to a range of measures which have been proposed in the parties’ joint engagement to implement the December 2022 report and submitted that these proposals would make a substantial impact on the matters prioritised by the trade union side.

The Court has decided that it would not be of assistance to the parties to set out each and every proposal of either party for implementation of change, but rather the Court should set out, by way of Recommendation, certain matters which the Court believes, having regard to all of the constraints surrounding the issues in dispute, will have a real and meaningful effect on the earnings of retained firefighters as well as on the work life balance of firefighters having regard to the operational limitations of the service.

It is the Court’s understanding that retained firefighters want to see change in the value of the fixed retainer payment and in the capacity of the firefighter to achieve a reduced call out liability so as to make a meaningful difference to the broader life circumstances of the firefighter.

The Court therefore sets out the following recommendation as a means of resolving the immediate dispute.

The Court emphasises that the Recommendation set out below is not intended to address definitively the matters underpinning the parties’ dispute as regards the implementation of the December 2022 report and the implementation of the thirteen recommendations which have been accepted by both parties. The Court understands that the parties will continue to jointly engage in their joint process to address those Recommendations which are designed to deal with the jointly accepted challenge of recruitment and retention and the future sustainability of service delivery in the retained fire service. It is the Court’s understanding also that both parties are committed to addressing the matters underpinning the trade dispute and arising from their facilitated engagement as part of any engagement to take place between the parties to secure a successor agreement to “Building Momentum”.

The Court’s Recommendation is drawn up following an extensive hearing jointly with both parties and subsequent engagement with both parties separately on the day of the hearing. That latter engagement was designed to deepen the Court’s understanding of all matters tabled by both sides in their written and oral submissions made at the hearing of the Court.

Recommendation of the Court.

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  1. That, in order to progress the issue of structured time off for Retained Firefighters, all Retained Fire Stations increase their staff complement to 12, thus allowing a crew of six to be rostered on and a crew of six to be rostered off on a weekly basis. All those rostered off to be alerted to incidents such that an individual rostered off would have the discretion to respond or not to attend the station.
  • 
    The increase of the complement will, in the understanding of the Court, lead to an increase of 400 approximately in the strength of the service and reduce the liability of each firefighter to respond to alerts from 75% of all alerts to 45% of alerts, without reduction or negative effect on the value of the Retainer payment. This reduced liability will, in the understanding of the Court, mean that a firefighter will be free to not respond to alerts for 20 weeks in the calendar year without reduction in the value of the Retainer payment in that year.

    It is the Court’s understanding that the new structure will provide for approximately 50 additional promotional posts.

    In addition, every urgent effort should be made to fill all current vacancies in the service including all vacant promotional positions as well as vacancies arising from the implementation of this Recommendation.

    In that context the management side should engage with Local Authority employers to establish whether there exists a reluctance or resistance within Local Authorities to having staff of the Authorities taking on the role of Retained firefighter and, if such a resistance or reluctance is found, to engage with those Authorities to ensure that the staffing of the service is supported by the general policies of the Authorities as regards their staff becoming part of the service.

  
  2. That the current arrangement whereby premium payments which apply (a) throughout weekends and (b) at night from 10.00pm to 7.00am should be amended such that, at night, the premium is applicable from 8.00pm to 8.00am. It is the Court’s understanding that, having regard to the liability on Firefighters to attend drills which commonly occur from 7.00pm to 9.00pm, this change will bring a benefit in premium payments of €1,200 approx. p.a. and, depending on levels of attendance and activity in the station a potential overall increase, inclusive of payment for attendance at drills, of between €1,500 approx. and €2,972 approx. p.a.

  3. That any proposal to address any issues relating to the role of Driver Mechanic should not be progressed at this time.

  4. That arrangements be put in place to implement community-based fire prevention programmes involving Retained Firefighters. This initiative to provide an option for each Retained Firefighter to undertake up to 80 hours of this planed activity per annum which would provide an additional income of €1,872 per annum.

  5. That each Retained Firefighter be issued with a Number 1 Dress Uniform.

  6. That the current structure of remuneration be altered so as to maintain the link between the hourly rate of pay with that of a craftsperson in Local Authorities but acknowledging that the Retainer payment is of a value which would accord with the provisions for lower paid workers in the current collective agreement “Building Momentum”.

  • 
    The Retainer payment should, on the basis of that altered structure, be adjusted to incorporate the provisions of “Building Momentum” in this regard with effect from the date of acceptance of this Recommendation and should thereafter be adjusted in line with whichever is the greater value of (a) any future adjustment in the hourly rate of pay of the Retained Firefighter or (b) in line with any provision for lower paid workers in any future national agreement for as long as the retainer accords with the rates set out in any such future agreement.

    It is the Court’s understanding that this alteration will have the effect of increasing the value of the Retainer payment and will result in the following movement on acceptance of the Recommendation and a further adjustment on October 2023 as also set out below:

• 7. That policies should be developed and standardised in relation to all relevant HR matters to include sick leave and all forms of statutory leave including maternity and parental leave for example.

  8. That the parties re-engage as a matter of urgency in their joint process to address the implementation of the thirteen Recommendation of the December 2022 report. The within Recommendation as set out above to be accepted as a Recommendation to resolve the current dispute put forward without prejudice to any agreement that may be reached by the parties in the joint process which is being facilitated by an independent person. Any dispute arising between the parties during or at the end of that process to be progressed through normal procedures as necessary up to and including a referral to the Court following engagement at conciliation in the WRC.

  9. That the engagement in the joint process to include constructive engagement to explore the potential to introduce an annual ‘floor value’ to earnings accruing from callouts. That engagement to take account of all relevant practical considerations in the context of the diversity of activity levels among stations nationwide including the need to protect the effectiveness of service delivery to the public and the need to avoid negative impact on callout responses for example.

  10. That the parties commit to engagement as regards the matters arising in this dispute and from the December 2022 report as part of the engagements likely to take place in connection with the parties attempts to agree a successor agreement to their collective agreement “Building Momentum”.

The Court so recommends.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Kevin Foley
SOC	______________________
JULY 2023	Chairman