Labour Court recommends talks on University College Cork security overtime changes

The Labour Court recommended that University College Cork and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union discuss proposed changes to security services officers’ duties, staffing and overtime. The recommendation was dated 22 December 2003. The proposals followed budget cuts and included changes to staffing and overtime allocation affecting about 50 officers. The union said the changes would reduce earnings and increase workloads, and sought compensation for established overtime losses. The University cited its financial position and higher security overtime costs. The Court said the parties had not discussed the proposals sufficiently and that some details were disclosed only at the hearing. It recommended discussions on staffing, coverage, overtime allocation, assessing losses unrelated to absenteeism and a compensation formula, to be completed by the end of February 2004.