Changing face of industrial relations affects conciliation service

A large majority of employers and trade unions believe that recent changes in industrial relations practices in Ireland have had an impact on the role played by the conciliation service of the Labour Relations Commission, according to a confidential report commissioned by this state-run dispute-resolution agency and submitted in August 1998.

A large majority of the users (84%) of Ireland's state-run Labour Relations Commission (LRC) conciliation service believe that changes in industrial relations practices have had an impact on the role played by the service, a recent report carried out for the Commission has found. The confidential report was submitted to Kieran Mulvey, chief executive of the LRC, on 5 August 1998 and remained unpublished in November.

The report is based on a study carried out by Tony Clarke and Brian Murphy, marketing advisors with the Marketing Development Programme in University College Dublin (UCD). It is entitled Perceptions of Irish IR practitioners towards the Labour Relations Commission conciliation service.

Of the 84% who felt that the conciliation service has been affected by changes in recent years, some were of the opinion that it was beginning to have a greater role to play in the management and acceptance of change. Also identified was a move away from the traditional adversarial approach to industrial relations towards a partnership approach at company level. This mirrors the national-level consensus between the social partners, which has been embodied in a series of three-year national agreements since 1987, including the current Partnership 2000 agreement (1997-2000) (IE9702103F).

The respondents included management officials (the majority), trade union officials and officials from the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC). Although most expressed satisfaction with the service, many were critical of the physical atmosphere of the LRC's Dublin head office, with one user commenting: "When you go in and realise that you could be stuck there for half the night your heart sinks." However, as another put it, "the facilities are poor, but sure that's the whole idea."

Overall, the key strengths of the service would appear to be:

• experience and expertise of staff;

• impartiality and independence of the service; and

• the pragmatic approach taken by its officers.

On the other hand, "a lack of authority", staff turnover and restraints imposed by the civil service are all seen as weaknesses. In non-union multinational companies, the conciliation service is seen as having little to offer, largely because these companies have no need to use it.

On the issue of perceived weaknesses, a small number of respondents felt that lack of "coalface experience" was an issue. Some others felt that in some cases, the conciliation service is still seen as a "stepping stone" to the Labour Court. The Labour Court is the final stage in Ireland's voluntarist dispute-resolution system. Its recommendations are usually accepted by employers, while trade unions often reject them. However, the Court is largely seen as impartial and its findings are generally accorded a considerable degree of respect by all sides.