S.I. No. 76/2004 - Industrial Relations Act 1990 (Enhanced Code of Practice on Voluntary Dispute Resolution) (Declaration) Order 2004

1. The procedure will last for a period of 6 weeks from the date of receipt by the other party of a written invitation from the Labour Relations Commission to participate in the procedure. The referring party may copy the original Labour Relations Commission referral to the other party at time of referral. The 6 weeks to include 2 weeks to arrange meetings and commence discussions on the issues in dispute and 4 weeks for substantive engagement on the issues in dispute. In the event that the parties are making substantial progress toward a resolution of the dispute this time frame can be extended by agreement (see paragraph 5 below).

2. In the first instance, the matter should be referred to the Labour Relations Commission in the prescribed format (see Appendix). An Advisory Officer will be appointed by the Commission to facilitate the procedure.

3. On receipt of the referral in the prescribed format the Advisory Officer will issue a written invitation (by registered post) to the other party to the dispute to participate in the voluntary dispute resolution procedure. Failure by the other party to indicate to the Advisory Officer (in writing) their willingness to participate in the procedure within 2 weeks (during which a reminder will issue) will be deemed to be a breach of the time frame. During this two-week period the Advisory Officer will seek to arrange a preliminary meeting with the other party.

4. On receipt of written confirmation (within 2 weeks) of the other party's willingness to participate in the procedure the Advisory Officer will work with the parties in an attempt to resolve the issues in dispute over a period of 4 weeks.

5. If progress is being made it may be agreed by the parties to extend the time frame. In this context the parties will seek the views of the Advisory Officer as to the likelihood of progress being made through the Labour Relations Commission intervention in the event of any such agreed extension. During any such extension an agreed cooling-off period can be put in place and the Advisory Officer will continue to work with the parties in an attempt to resolve any outstanding issues. The Labour Relations Commission may engage expert assistance throughout the procedure, including the involvement of ICTU and IBEC, should that prove helpful to the resolution of any differences.

6. If after the six-week period or following any agreed extension, including any agreed cooling-off period, all issues have been resolved, the Advisory Officer will disengage and the procedure will be deemed to be completed. Before disengaging, the Advisory Officer may make proposals to the parties for the peaceful resolution of any future grievances or disputes.

7. In the event of issues remaining unresolved the procedure will be deemed to have been exhausted and the Advisory Officer will then make an immediate written report to the Labour Court on the situation.

Appendix

Prescribed Format for Referrals to the Labour Relations Commission

The referring party must ensure that the following details are made available to the Labour Relations Commission at the time of referral and that all referrals are addressed to the

Director of the Advisory Service, Labour Relations Commission, Tom Johnson House, Haddington Road, Dublin 4.

• Name and address of union official and contact number/fax/email address.

• Name and address of company, contact person, number/fax/e-mail address and details of any representative organisation where known (IBEC, CIF etc.)

• Category of members i.e. general operatives, admin., production, technical etc.

• A description of the issues in dispute.

• Any correspondence or dialogue entered into with other party by the initiating party.

GIVEN under my hand,

13

th

January 2004.

Frank Fahey

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

8. The major objective of the Enhanced Code is to provide an improved framework that has the full support of all the parties for the processing of disputes arising in situations where negotiating arrangements are not in place and where collective bargaining fails to take place.

2 - PROCEDURES

Where negotiating arrangements are not in place and where collective bargaining fails to take place, the following process would be put in place with which management and unions should fully co-operate in seeking to resolve the issues in dispute effectively and expeditiously

WHEREAS the Labour Relations Commission has prepared under subsection (1) of

section 42

of the

Industrial Relations Act 1990

(No. 19 of 1990), a draft enhanced code of practice on voluntary dispute resolution where negotiation arrangements are not in place and where collective bargaining does not take place;

AND WHEREAS the Labour Relations Commission has complied with subsection (2) of that section and has submitted the draft enhanced code of practice to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment;

NOW THEREFORE, I, Frank Fahey, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by subsection (3) of that section, the Labour (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1993 (

S.I. No. 18 of 1993

) (as adapted by the Enterprise and Employment (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1997 (

S.I. No. 305 of 1997

)), and the Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2003 (

S.I. No. 156 of 2003

), hereby order as follows