Labour Court backs South Tipperary fire roster change with conditional compensation

The Labour Court recommended that South Tipperary County Council proceed with a proposed change to fire service rosters, with individual assessment of any earnings loss after 12 months. The recommendation, signed on 4 April 2011, followed a dispute with SIPTU Clonmel, SIPTU Tipperary and UNITE. The unions objected on safety and earnings grounds. The Council said an officer in charge would decide whether a second tender was needed at a fire. The Court said deployment was primarily an operational matter for management and that health and safety matters were outside its remit. It recommended that any demonstrated loss, measured against average annual earnings in the previous three years, be compensated at 1.5 times the loss in two equal phases. The recommendation depended on full cooperation with the new rosters.