Firefighters’ union fails to get negotiating role

A trade union representing most of the 76 retained fire-fighters employed by Waterford County Council has lost its appeal aimed at having the courts review a Labour Court recommendation it not be recognised for negotiating purposes.

Four retained firefighters along with the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) and its branch, the Irish Fire and Emergency Services Association (IFESA), had sought judicial review of the Labour Court’s March 2014 recommendation to the effect the council was not required to recognise the PNA for negotiating purposes.

The PNA is a registered trade union with a negotiation licence but not a member of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

The council employs 530 people of which 76 are retained firefighters. It recognises five different trade unions but not the PNA or IFESA.

In a recommendation of March 2014 after the PNA sought recognition, the Labour Court said the council had well-established arrangements in place for collective bargaining with authorised trade unions.

It said the applicants were, in effect, a “breakaway group” and recognition of this group would have “a highly destabilising effect” on established negotiation arrangements in place.

The core issue in the application for judicial review of the recommendation concerned the jurisdiction of the Labour Court to issue recommendations under the relevant provisions of the Industrial Relations Act when consulted regarding a trade dispute.

In 2015, the High Court ruled the recommendation could not be judicially reviewed as it did not constitute a determination of any rights or obligations.

In a judgment this week, the three-judge Court of Appeal upheld the High Court findings.