Almost 16,000 complaints over work issues

THE Labour Relations Commission recorded its highest level ever of employment complaints last year, receiving nearly 16,000 submissions over job-related concerns.

But its annual report also noted that there were only 6,600 loss of work days in Ireland because of industrial disputes, much fewer than in other European countries.

Launching the report, LRC chief executive Kieran Mulvey said that Irish employers and employees had a very strong ability to negotiate on work-related issues.

He said there was an “infinite and extraordinary capacity to resolve disputes and differences”.

“A talk out is better than a walkout,” he said.

Nonetheless, the increased workload for the commission saw an extra 8% of referrals come before its services compared to 2009.

The commission admitted that the higher number of complaints meant there were long delays in commissioners deciding outcomes of disputes.

The average cost for a rights commissioner hearing last year was about 400, the report said.

The rights commissioner service received 15,761 referrals during the year.

Overall, the commission handled nearly 17,000 disputes and issues across its rights commissioner and conciliation services in 2010, and in that same year only 14 industrial disputes resulted in the loss of work hours in the economy, the report found.

Mediation was carried out in employment disputes across a variety of sectors, including finance, the pharmaceutical industry, airline groups, as well as semi-state bodies.

Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton explained that the commission’s role was increasingly important in helping Irish workers adapt to change.

He said there was no greater blow than losing a job, but added that employers and employees alike were “going to have to do more with less”.