Labour relations agencies ‘overwhelmed’

ICTU president Jack O’Connor has called for public sector resources to be redeployed to support the state’s overwhelmed labour relations machinery, if the Government is “serious about respecting peoples’ rights”.

The union leader said as part of the redeployment provisions contained in the recently ratified Croke Park agreement, as “efficiencies” are found in other areas workers could be transferred to labour relations work.

The call follows Labour Relation Commission (LRC) chief executive Kieran Mulvey telling a weekend conference at UCD, to mark 20 years of the Industrial Relations Act, that, due to the thousands of referrals currently being received, the commission was “overwhelmed” and investigating all the cases was impossible.