FÁS relocation dispute likely to escalate
The collapse, after three hours of talks in Dublin, leaves the way open for an escalation of the dispute as top SIPTU officials will consider strategy at their meeting today.
SIPTU regional secretary Patricia King blamed intransigence by the Department of Finance - which is driving the decentralisation plan - for the latest breakdown.
“There was no change in the position of the department from last week,” she reported.
“The parties were there for just under three hours.
“There is no question but the industrial dispute remains,” she added.
Yesterday’s ill-fated peace moves were held in the shadow of a two-hour stoppage - the second in a week - which affected up to 1,000 people attending FÁS apprenticeship and training courses in the Dublin area. People attending the courses in Baldoyle, Loughlinstown and Tallaght were asked not to turn up until 11am.
Some 250 head office staff, members of SIPTU, picketed six FÁS offices and training centres.
Other union members in centres away from the Baggot Street head office also refused to pass pickets.
Last week a meeting at the LRC broke down after 10 hours of talks. The following day, employees picketed FÁS head office - the first of a series of stoppages over the decentralisation.
SIPTU had served two weeks’ notice after receiving 87% support.
The union is fighting the Government decision to move 400 FÁS head office staff to Birr, Co Offaly, by 2009. Only a small minority have agreed to decentralise.
SIPTU says it represents nearly 2,000 of the 2,500 FÁS staff in the agency’s 128 branches throughout the country.
SIPTU is opposed to the agency’s policy of restricting head office promotions to those who are prepared to commit to relocating to the midlands town.
New recruits to the agency’s Dublin head office are also required to sign up for decentralisation.
Unlike civil servants who can transfer to other departments, staff in the State agencies, such as FÁS, do not have that option as they are categorised as public servants.
The union says FÁS is trying to force staff to move out of the capital by linking promotions to relocation - despite the Labour Court finding this policy breaches agreed industrial relations.
Labour spokesperson Joan Burton called on Finance Minister Brian Cowen to review decentralisation plans for specialised State agencies to avoid further disputes from staff hostile to moving from Dublin.
“The simple message is that while decentralisation may have been an attractive project for certain government departments and bodies, for a number of specialised agencies staff believe they need to remain in Dublin in order to carry out their work,” she said.
Ms Burton said the FÁS dispute was symptomatic of government bungling on decentralisation.
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