Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 17 Nov 1998

Vol. 496 No. 6

Adjournment Debate. - National Botanic Gardens Dispute.

Mr. N. Ahern

I wish to raise the issue of the 16 gardeners who are on the street outside the Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin. They are now in their fifth week on the street. They are not on strike but suspended from duty without justification. At a time of social partnership, about which we hear a great deal, it is a disgrace that the staff have been left out in the cold and rain for five weeks without any effort being made to bring the dispute to a conclusion. The staff are available to perform normal duties prior to the introduction of a new system of training and examining of the Teagasc trainees. Management made an offer which the staff rejected. The staff quickly put forward an alternative suggestion to solve the difficulties but they did not get an opportunity to press their revised offer around the table. Management suspended the gardeners. Why does the Minister feel the union claim is not worthy of discussion? That is the only way to solve the matter.

I have been informed that the request by the union and staff will not cost more money. Money is not really the issue. It is a case of jigging around the regraded positions which have been offered by management. The dispute concerns the different positions of the grades. The staff are seeking conditions similar to those achieved by local authority gardeners with whom they are linked.

The craft gardeners remain willing to negotiate a settlement to this dispute on terms which will be both more acceptable to them and less costly on the taxpayer. Management remains opposed to such a solution or negotiations.

Tonight I hope the Minister can indicate some movement from the Department's position. These are reasonable, mature, committed, dedicated workers. They are not in any sense hotheads. Everyone is aware that suspending men and hoping they will crawl back after five weeks is not an option. One cannot just expect men to stay out in cold wet weather like today and offer them no hope. My view is that such carry-on leads to long-term bitterness. The danger is that it will lead to an all-out picket, matters will get worse and bitterness will increase. I ask the Minister to indicate that his Department will adopt a reasonable approach in this matter and get down to negotiations. Sooner or later that is what will happen and that is where compromise will have to be reached.

It would be better if the gardeners were allowed return to work on the terms which existed before, a time limit of two, three or four weeks imposed and matters sorted out.

Is the Minister prepared to instruct his officials to adopt a more reasonable stance? Is he prepared to get these men off the street and around the table? Sooner or later negotiations must take place irrespective of the venue, be it at the Labour Court or in the Department's offices. I hope the Minister can indicate some movement tonight. Leaving the gardeners out in cold, wet, miserable weather is not an option. It leads to more frustration and bitterness. I hope the Minister has some good news.

Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (Éamon Ó Cuív)

Ba mhaith liom buiochas a ghlacadh leis an Teachta as ucht na ceiste seo a ardú. Gabhaim leithscéal ar son an Aire mar tá sí sa Bhruiséal tráthnóna ag cruinniú de na hAirí Cultúrtha.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Unfortunately, the Minister cannot be present tonight as she is in Brussels at a meeting of cultural Ministers. As a consequence, it falls to me, as Minister of State, to reply to the Deputy. The National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin are managed by Dúchas, the heritage service of my Department. Craft gardeners employed in the Botanic Gardens have, for some time, sought a universal upgrading. This claim was rejected by the Labour Court on two previous occasions, in 1992 and again in 1996. In pursuing this claim the gardeners' union, SIPTU, is seeking to overturn the findings of the court. In the circumstances, my Department is not in a position to concede their demands.

In furtherance of their claim, the gardeners refused to co-operate with training assessments for student gardeners. Having regard to this refusal to carry out duties proper to their position, management were regrettably left with no alternative but to suspend the gardeners from duty.

Teagasc has a long established training facility at the Botanic Gardens. Its student gardeners undergo practical training elements of their amenity horticulture diploma course in the gardens. The Department's gardeners have traditionally completed the job assessments of the students for Teagasc. Obviously the Botanic Gardens are in a unique position to provide specialist training. In 1994, Teagasc decided to revise the system of assessment to a modular base. This required a modest additional input from the gardeners, entirely in keeping with their craftsperson grading. They refused to co-operate and used the situation to renew the grading claim, the concession of which would have given them greater status over other craftspersons including other gardeners, within the Department. There would also be repercussions in so far as other Government Departments and local authority sectors are concerned. The issue was again referred to the Labour Court in 1996, where the claim was rejected.

There was further extensive negotiation and investigation of the matter, even following the last Labour Court recommendation. A constructive and imaginative response was made in a genuine effort to bring matters to a conclusion. The offer made was, by any standard, a very generous one. Sadly, following a ballot of the union membership this approach was rejected out of hand. The union's response was to effectively revert to the original demand, which as I have already said, could not be acceded to.

At this juncture my Department could not countenance any further delay to the commencement of student training. The gardeners were clearly advised of the consequences of their refusal to co-operate.

Following the inevitable suspensions from duty, the union mounted a picket at the Botanic Gardens. However, the gardens have remained open to the public, although there has been some curtailment of the glasshouse openings. All essential activities are being maintained and at present there is no danger to any plant species. Contrary to comments in the media, management staff are perfectly competent and capable of maintaining all the rare, delicate and other plants.

Since the Office of Public Works in 1992 and more recently my Department, took over responsibility for the National Botanic Gardens, enormous strides have been taken to restore them to their pre-eminent position. The recent major capital investment in the Botanic Gardens has resulted in international acclaim for the superb restoration work to the Turner Curvilinear Glasshouse Range. The Minister had the pleasure to unveil a plaque last October commemorating the prestigious Europa Nostra Award. In the same month the Taoiseach opened the new Herbarium Library building. Ambitious plans are in hand to restore other aspects of the gardens and to enhance visitor facilities there.

In the context of all these positive measures that have been undertaken, or are planned, at the Botanic Gardens, it is a cause of great regret that there is an industrial dispute there. My Department has already signalled its willingness to renew negotiations with the union on condition that normal working is resumed, including full co-operation with the student training programmes. I earnestly hope this invitation will be taken up soon and that in turn it will lead to a resolution of the dispute. This is the only practical way forward.

I will convey the deputy's views to the Minister on her return from Brussels.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.05 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 18 November 1998.