Vol. 241 No. 10
asked the Minister for Local Government if he will make a statement concerning his decision not to accept the arbitration award made to local authority engineers and his subsequent acceptance of the report of the review body to which this award was referred.
114.
asked the Minister for Local Government when he intends to implement the findings of the arbitration proceedings in the case of local authority engineers.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 113 and 114 together.
Negotiations on pay claims on behalf of local authority officers are conducted, under the Scheme of Conciliation and Arbitration for local authority officers, by the local authorities and staff representatives. The Minister for Local Government is not a party to the negotiations but pay increases recommended either in conciliation settlements or arbitration findings are, by law, subject to his sanction. I referred the findings of the Local Authority Officers' Arbitration Board, on the claims by local authority engineers and county accountants to the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the public sector because I wished to have the best possible advice on the implications of these findings for other parts of the public sector before deciding whether or not they should be sanctioned. One of the conclusions of the review body was that if the findings for the engineers were implemented it might be difficult to avoid an increase of the order of 15-20 per cent in wage and salary costs in the public and private sectors, apart from general national pay rounds. I accept their recommendation and I informed the staff side that it was proposed to give effect to revised scales of pay from 1st April, 1968. Since then I have had a number of meetings with the staff representatives and I have been furnished with an interim report on the grade structure of the local authority engineering organisation by the committee set up to consider that subject. Pending clarification of the position generally, I have deferred writing to the local authorities.
Is this the first time an arbitration award has been turned down? Is it also not a fact that prior to the election I was assured here in this House that, while this was being referred to the review body, it was not a refusal? It was only suspended, so to speak, until the report of the review body concerning all people on a certain income level came to light and it was, in fact, only being held over.
That was the position. The decision was deferred until the report of the review body was available.
Is this the first time this ever happened?
No.
I think it is.
It is not.
Is the Minister aware of the acute shortage of engineers in Dublin County Council and Dublin Corporation? Is he aware of the fact that, because we are not able to get engineers, the people who are there are overloaded with work and are leaving because of that? We shall soon have nobody to carry out the development work required.
I am aware that the Deputy would like that to happen.
The Minister knows it is happening.
Is the Minister aware that Louth County Council have advertised seven times for an engineer and, because of the scale, they cannot get one? Sewerage schemes for six villages cannot be sent up to his Department because of lack of staff. Is the Minister aware of that?
