THE LABOUR COURT has ruled that the government’s Injuries Board did not comply with the Haddington Road Agreement when it decided to outsource work without adequately consulting with unions.
The case was brought to the Labour Court by three unions representing public servants and involved the transfer of core work from the board to outside contractors.
Unions argued that the transfer happened without any consultation with the unions concerned or without a cost benefit analysis. They claimed that this is an ‘ongoing tactic by some public service organisations to overcome the moratorium on recruitment’.
The court found in their favour, stating that the board had not complied with the outsourcing provisions of the public pay deal, the Haddington Road Agreement.
Speaking today about the decision, General Secretary of the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants (AHCPS), Ciaran Rohan, said the board is “self-funding, is not a drain on the finances of the state and needs to be staffed appropriately to carry out its important function”.
“The staff are professionally trained and have effected savings of €1 billion to the exchequer in the ten year existence of the Board,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Injuries Board said it has outsourced for the last ten years and recently found it necessary to extend that, on an interim basis, given the public service recruitment moratorium.
Had the Injuries Board not proceeded with this additional outsourcing, it would have placed upward and ongoing pressure on insurance premiums for consumers.
“Whereas the board has consulted with staff and unions, it accepts the Labour Court recommendation that it needs to consult further, and it is fully committed to this,” they added.
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