Structure of new Limerick authority ‘a mess’ say staff
Over 60% of engineers and planners are in favour of voting on industrial action.
A study, in recent days, by the Local Authority Professional Officers (LAPO), also found 94% of its members do not agree with a new staffing structure, while 75% said the changed management system had confused staff.
The new council is a merger of former Limerick County Council and Limerick City Council.
A report in the LAPO survey states: “There’s common consensus that management are out of touch... the structure of the organisation is a mess. The new organisation has ripped apart a previously functioning body.
“We are now just existing on the goodwill of those working here. When that goodwill is removed, and it will be, this organisation will collapse. The public are not being served well by the [new] Limerick City and County Council.”
Professional staff also claim management have gone down the Harvard Business School road, led by people who never went to Harvard regurgitating Harvard concepts.
“The ‘Harvard’ type concepts are lofty, difficult to understand, unduly complicated and not fit for purpose,” say staff. “It is a management and operating model which fails to take into account time proven structures and systems. It is complex enough dealing with the amalgamation without having to deal with this untried and untested target operating model.”
A spokesman for council management said last night: “It is the policy of Limerick City and County Council to engage fully with its employees and their representatives in relation to matters of concern to their employment. A management/trade union forum meets regularly in relation to organisational change and industrial relations matters generally. The Siptu/LAPO trade union have confirmed they are not in dispute with the council at present.
“The council will continue to engage with Siptu/LAPO in accordance with normal industrial relations procedures.”
