Appointment block for Labour Court deputy chair
The Labour Court has said that a Government decision to block the renewal of a senior official’s appointment will have “a severe impact” on its functioning.
In a statement, the industrial-relations body said that it had received communication last week indicating that the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation had blocked the renewal of a serving deputy chairman’s warrant of appointment.
Describing the development as “unexpected”, the court said that, as a result, it would be reduced to one operating division from this week.
Funding
The Labour Court is a statutorily independent body but is funded by an allocation from the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment that is ultimately approved by the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.
It said that last week’s decision would result in “serious delays” to the hearing of individual employment-rights cases.
“It will also impact the Labour Court’s industrial-relations role as an independent tribunal that investigates disputes of an individual and collective nature and its role in the regulation of the conditions of employment of certain workers,” the court added.
Cases to be re-heard
It also warned that “a significant number of cases” that had been partly heard would have to be re-heard in full.
The court is to write to representative bodies and service users in the coming days to set out how users will be affected.
“The Labour Court sincerely regrets the disruption and delay that this unforeseen communication has caused,” it concluded.