A preliminary meeting was held on Thursday 1 September between Mike McEnaney, Derek Best and Mike Hall to commence discussions on the implementation of the Employment Court’s decision.
The Union outlined a number of key positions:
- A decision from the Fire Service on whether there is an intention to appeal is necessary as soon as possible. Work on implementation details can only be worthwhile if the decision is not appealed.
- The Union will not make any agreement regarding the mass selling of Days in Lieu accrued back to 1 April 2004. However, the Union noted that members can, if the employer agrees, sell back days that have accrued for more than 12 months. A rate for such sellback will need to be agreed.
- The Union will not make any agreement that the existing amount of Annual Leave would provide compliance with the new minimum leave entitlement of 4 weeks that comes into force on 1 April 2007. In fact the Union’s position, after seeking legal advice, is that members will be entitled to a further week’s leave on 1 April 2007.
- The Union has two objectives as far as implementing the Court’s decision:
- To ensure members receive their statutory rights; and
- All efforts must be made to maintain M.S.M. when members exercise their rights to use a Day in Lieu.
It is expected that a further meeting will take place early next week to further explore the options available.
