Labour Court asks Irish Water and union to gather evidence on Resident Engineers’ pay

The Labour Court recommended that Irish Water and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union agree a question for all local authorities about how Resident Engineers’ pay is set, then make a final effort to resolve their dispute. The recommendation was signed on 19 January 2015. The dispute concerned how to place Resident Engineers seconded to Irish Water on the pay scale. The union argued that placement should reflect each engineer’s skills and experience; Irish Water said it should reflect the skills and experience required for the project. Resident Engineers in local authorities earned between €59,680 and €65,000 a year, while those seconded to Irish Water received €60,000 a year plus a site allowance. Information from eight local authorities was not enough for the Court to establish the practice across all 31. It recommended that the parties ask every local authority which approach it used. If they could not agree after receiving the responses, they could refer the dispute back to the Court.