Minister Breen welcomes the Board of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) to the Shannon region for their Board meeting

14th May 2018

The Board of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) today met at the Shannon regional office of the Workplace Relations Commission at Westpark in the Shannon free zone.

Mr Pat Breen TD, Minister for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market, and Data Protection said “I am delighted to welcome the Board of the Workplace Relations Commission to its first meeting at the Shannon regional office in my home county of Clare and I wish the Board well in its future work”.

In the two and a half years since its establishment, the Minister said that the WRC “is playing a vital role in contributing towards industrial peace, engaging with employers and trade unions on issues of employee pay and rewards and in this way, contributing towards maintaining and sustaining enterprise efficiency and productivity within enterprises”. Welcoming positive news on the economic front with the rate of unemployment recently falling to just under 6% signalling almost full employment, the Minister said “we must work to ensure that those in work are paid what they are due and the WRC has a key role to deliver in this regard”.

The Minister referred to the key role played by the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court in terms of helping enterprises to maintain industrial relations stability and he said that their contribution is highly regarded. Their invaluable expertise in this area has indeed been put to the test many times and has delivered results for companies countrywide, including for companies based in the Shannon zone.”

The Minister said that economic development in the regions is a key objective of this Government and it is important also that services, such as those provided by the WRC to employees and employers, is accessible also in the regions. The Minister added “I am heartened to know that the WRC is working towards extending its full range of services to its regional offices, to provide the same services on a regional basis as those that are available in Dublin and I am fully supportive of their efforts in this regard”.

Ends

The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (DBEI) plays a key role in implementing the Government’s policies of stimulating the productive capacity of the economy and creating an environment which supports job creation and maintenance. The Department also has a remit to promote fair competition in the marketplace, protect consumers and safeguard workers.

Photos to follow.

If you would like more information about this topic, please call Press Office at 01 631 2200 or email press.office@dbei.gov.ie

NOTE FOR EDITORS

Workplace Relations Commission

The Workplace Relations Commission was established on 1 October 2015.

The main functions of the WRC are to:

• Promote the improvement of workplace relations, and the maintenance of good workplace relations,

• Promote and encourage compliance with relevant employment legislation,

• Provide guidance in relation to compliance with Codes of Practice,

• Conduct reviews of, and monitor developments, in workplace relations generally,

• Conduct or commission relevant research and provide advice, information and the findings of research to Joint Labour Committees and Joint Industrial Councils,

• Advise the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in relation to the application of, and compliance with, relevant legislation, and to

• Provide information to the public in relation to employment legislation (other than the Employment Equality Act).

With a wide workforce of almost 200 staff with different specialisms and with offices in Dublin, Carlow, Shannon, Cork and Sligo, and operational bases for hearing meetings in many other counties, the WRC mission is to

• deliver a quality customer service throughout Ireland, which is

• speedy, user-friendly, independent, effective, impartial and cost-effective,

• provides variable means of dispute resolution, redress and effective enforcement, and

• improves workplace relations generally,

all of which are delivered fee free.  

Board of the WRC

The Commission has an advisory board responsible for the WRC’s strategy and annual work programme. The board comprises a chairperson and 8 ordinary members appointed by the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation.

Chair

Dr Paul Duffy: Vice-President of Pfizer Global Supply, Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Operations & External Supply Operating Unit

Ordinary Members

Ms Deirdre O Brien, Human Resources Manager, Celestica Ltd,

Ms Maeve Mc Elwee, Head of Industrial Relations and Human Resources, Ibec,

Mr Liam Berney, ICTU,

Mr Shay Cody, General Secretary, IMPACT,

Ms Geraldine Hynes, Consultant in Workplace Dispute Resolution,

Ms Audrey Cahill, Human Resources Manager, Keelings Distribution,

Mr Richard Devereux, Intel Corporation UK Ltd.,

Dr Michelle O’ Sullivan, Lecturer, Industrial Relations, University of Limerick.

Director General

The Director General (Ms. Oonagh Buckley) is responsible for the management, and control generally, of the administration and business of the WRC, and such other functions as are conferred on her by the Workplace Relations Act 2015, and is accountable to the Minister for the efficient and effective management of the Commission in this regard.

Staff of the Commission

The Commission staff allocation stood at c.180 permanent employees who are civil servants and part of the overall staffing establishment of the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.

The staffing is supplemented by a further 37 Adjudication Officers who are contracted to assist the Adjudication Service on a case-by-case basis.

Key Performance Metrics for 2017

WRC Activity 2017

14,001 Specific Complaints Received

7,300 Adjudication Complaint Files Received (Up 6%)

4,370 Adjudication Hearings (Up 24%) and 2,247 Adjudication Decisions Issued (Up 82%)

92% Of Adjudication Complaints Processed in less than 6 months

Type of Complaint

Of the specific complaints received:

• 27% related to Pay issues,
• 14% related to Unfair Dismissal,
• 13% related to Working Time,
• 11% related to Discrimination/Equality,
• 11% related to Trade Disputes/IR issues,
• 8% related to Terms and Conditions of Employment

4,750 Inspections Concluded

Employees Covered by Inspections 99,000 (Up 24,000)

Unpaid Wages Recovered €1.8m (Up 8%)

1.65m Web Views (Up 8%)

Legacy Adjudication Complaints Reduced to 295 “On Hands”

2,234 Conciliation and Dispute Facilitations Meetings Held

84% of Collective Disputes Resolved

Face to Face Mediations doubled on 2016

52,001 queries to Infoline dealt with

WRC Activity Time Series: 1 October 2015 – 31 December 2017

WRC Activity Time Series: 1 October 2015 – 31 December 2017

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