Military officers seek union affiliation for pay talks
RACO said its members have lost faith in the ability of any parallel process to recognise and compensate for the unique restrictions of Defence Forces service and this, coupled with the weakening of their Conciliation & Arbitration Scheme, "has resulted in its members seeking a new approach to pay negotiations.”
In an unprecedented move, the country’s military officers have voted overwhelmingly to seek affiliation to the umbrella union group ICTU, in order to gain proper representation at national pay talks.
The 85% vote in favour of the move by RACO (Representative Organisation for Commissioned Officers) members will put further pressure on the Government to grant the country’s Defence Forces the right to union affiliation, which they have wavered over ever since PDForra, which represents enlisted personnel, won a European Court ruling in 2019 that this should be allowed.
RACO said the vote represents “a significant shift in policy” for its association which had traditionally favoured the introduction of a permanent pay review body which would recognise the unique nature of military service.
However, recommendations from such a body would have to be consistent with national public sector wage policy, meaning that there would be little or no scope to recognise and compensate for the unique nature of military service, or the inferior working conditions and restrictions experienced by serving military personnel, who are still exempt from the protections of European Working Time Directive.
RACO general secretary Conor King said three successive rounds of pay talks have seen its members “marginalised and excluded from fair process” as a result of their weakened industrial relations status.
RACO said its members have lost faith in the ability of any parallel process to recognise and compensate for the unique restrictions of Defence Forces service and this, coupled with the weakening of their Conciliation & Arbitration Scheme, "has resulted in its members seeking a new approach to pay negotiations.”
When PDForra won the European Court ruling, then-Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, told the government granting them union affiliation could have implications for State security.
He expressed concern that personnel could opt to strike which PDForra promised would never happen. RACO have also given the same promise.
“Defence Forces personnel will never go on strike or contemplate taking industrial action. This loyalty should not be exploited, however,” RACO deputy general secretary Derek Priestley said.
Minister for Defence Simon Coveney has previously said he has an open mind on the military representative associations having union affiliation. However, he still remains to make a decision on this.
Paragraph 2 (3) of the Defence Amendment Act (1990) states that without the consent of the minister, the representative associations cannot be associated with or affiliated to any trade union.
