THE REHAB Group has said a Labour Court recommendation that it should repay part of salary cuts introduced for staff last year would cost it more than €2 million.
Pay cuts of between 5 and 15 per cent were implemented for staff in the Rehab Group in February 2010. These were in line with the pay cuts implemented by the Government for public service staff.
Staff in voluntary bodies such as Rehab are not public service personnel. However, the Government reduced funding to them by the equivalent amount to that which would be generated by pay cuts applied in the public service.
In a recommendation, the Labour Court found that while there was “merit” in the organisation’s claim that pay cuts should apply in line with the public service, it also said these “were introduced without proper or adequate utilisation of normal industrial relations procedures”.
It recommended that the union Siptu should accept the pay cuts concerned but they should take effect from October 2010. It says “the appropriate retrospective payments should now be made”.
In a statement last night the Rehab Group said it was happy with “the fundamental point” of the recommendation that there was a pay relationship between its staff and those in public service grades. The Labour Court had found it was appropriate for it to apply the pay cuts.
Rehab Group director of human resources Shona Boyne said: “We are extremely surprised, however, at the court’s second recommendation that the cuts should commence from October 2010, despite the fact that the public sector cuts and our relevant funding cuts applied from January 2010. This second part of the recommendation, if implemented, will cost the Rehab Group over €2 million.”
She said the Rehab Group would “afford appropriate respect and consideration to the court’s recommendation”.
“The primary concern of the Rehab Group at all times in this matter has been to maintain service levels to our clients and to protect employment numbers, both in RehabCare and National Learning Network, and all decisions have been and will continue to be taken in this context and in the context of further cuts from State agencies, including the HSE.”
The Rehab Group, which describes itself as a not-for-profit organisation working for social and economic inclusion among people with disabilities and others, employs about 3,500 people.
