Dispute over working hours rages at City Hall

A dispute over flexible working hours is raging at City Hall. The Labour Court hasn’t resolved the dispute between Galway City Council and trade union, SIPTU, and has asked both sides to engage in further discussions.

The court said it would issue a definitive recommendation in the dispute at the end of May, if the problem isn’t resolved through local negotiations.

The dispute revolves around the local authority’s plan to change flexible working arrangements in line with the Haddington Road Agreement, a national deal on public sector pay.

SIPTU argued that the Council was unilaterally imposing changes to flexible working-hours scheme that was in place since 2002, “without meaningful consultation or agreement” with its members.

The union wants the extension of the existing scheme to professional and technical staff to proceed.

They argued that management were in breach of good industrial relations and collective agreements through the lack of consultation. And they said the changes would worsen the terms of the existing agreement with workers.

The proposed changes will impact staff in a variety of ways including childcare arrangements, childcare costs, medical appointments, travel arrangements, and increased commuting times.

The Council argued that in February last year, it agreed in principle to extend flexitime to include professional and technical staff.

For more on this story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune