Number of cases at LRC double
LRC chief executive Kieran Mulvey said the conciliation service, which deals with pay restructuring and redundancy-related disputes, had received 1,300 referrals in the year to the end of September.
He also said referrals to the LRC’s Rights Commissioner service grew by a record 21% in 2008, to 11,000, and that even by September of this year referrals had surpassed the 10,000 mark.
Mr Mulvey, who was speaking at the publication of the LRC’s 2008 annual report, said that in order to get through the ongoing phase of industrial disharmony all parties in Irish employments needed “to work together to achieve mutually satisfactory outcomes.”
“The Public Sector, in particular, has no choice but to build on the goodwill that exists to find better ways of working which delivers high-quality services at a time when the resources to fund public services are severely curtailed,” said Mr Mulvey. Mr Mulvey said competitiveness must be restored through a combination of more efficient work practices, better product cost analysis, in-company training and investment in infrastructure and research and development.
Labour Affairs Minister Dara Calleary congratulated the LRC on maintaining a high rate of settlement in industrial disputes with just over 80% referred to the commission’s conciliation service resolved at conciliation stage during 2008.
