Updated at 1.40pm
THE LABOUR RELATIONS Commission has issued its recommendation in the row over Irish Water pay.
It’s hoped the move will end the long-running dispute over performance-related payments (sometimes referred to as ‘bonuses’) at the company.
As an interim measure, non-performance-related increments should be paid at Irish Water, the LRC said – until a performance-related system is reinstated in 2017.
The dispute has been rumbling on since last year, when staff at the semi-state were told they would not be paid any performance-related pay for 2013 or 2014, and that a review of the entire salary structure would be conducted.
Irish Water has said today will accept the LRC’s proposals after a talks process that began earlier this summer.
Unions at the company will also recommend acceptance, a Siptu spokesman confirmed.
How did the dispute arise?
Last November’s decision not to pay “at risk” increments – which were frequently referred to as bonuses in the media – followed months of political turmoil surrounding the utility and a number of large-scale protests.
It had emerged the previous month that some staff who were deemed to “need improvement” could still be entitled to the payments.
A spokesperson for Irish Water said at the time that the move reflected the fact that at the end of 2014, the company had “not yet earned sufficient public confidence”.
A statement said:
We made this decision in the best interests of Irish Water and the wider Ervia group to show we are listening to the public.
Workers, however, said they weren’t willing to accept the unilateral change – with Siptu saying the pay structure had been agreed with management in 2012 and had resulted in a €34 million saving in labour costs.
What’s happening now?
This is the proposal being put forward by the LRC (which is being accepted by the Ervia group, including Irish Water):
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