New Dispute Settling Power For Labour Court
Mr. Tom Kitt T.D., Minister for Labour Affairs today (Wednesday 26th January, 2000) announced that the Government has approved proposals to extend existing legislation to give the Labour Court new dispute settling powers in circumstances where parties have not engaged in talks.
Making the announcement Minister Kitt said "the new proposals will deal with problems which arise in disputes where no negotiating arrangements are in place and where collective bargaining fails to take place."
The new proposals will provide two mechanisms to deal with such disputes. The first of these will be; a voluntary procedure whereby parties can avail of the services of the Advisory Service of the Labour Relations Commission to assist resolution of disputes over pay and conditions. Where agreement is not reached the matters still unresolved can be referred to the Labour Court for adjudication.
Secondly, a special fallback procedure will provide, where a trade union so requests, for the Labour Court to investigate an issue in dispute between a trade union and an employer where the Court is satisfied that:
- an employer has failed to participate in the voluntary procedure;
- appropriate internal procedures and mechanisms have failed to resolve the issue;
- there is no recourse to industrial action during the process.
Minister Kitt said that the proposals emerged from the High Level Group and reflect agreement between ICTU and IBEC on the issue. They represent a further step in modernising industrial relations within the social partnership model.
