July Monthly Meeting held on Monday, 15th July 2013, at Kells Civic Offices, Headfort Place, Kells
Presiding: Cllr O. Sweeney
Present: Cllrs B. Collins, B. Curran, S. Drew, C. Ferguson, T. Grimes, F. Lynch,
B. Reilly, S. Reilly.
Also Present: Mr. K. Stewart, Town Manager, Ms. A. Bird. Town Clerk, Ms. C. O’Reilly, Clerical Officer.
Absent: Ms Fiona Beers, Town Engineer
Minutes
The minutes of:
§ June monthly meeting held on 17th June 2013 were confirmed on the proposal Cllr T. Grimes, seconded by Cllr F. Lynch, subject to amendment to item on Garda Barracks/Defence Forces building to read Department of Defence instead of Justice.
§ Annual meeting held on 17th June 2013 were confirmed on the proposal of Cllr B. Collins, seconded by Cllr B. Reilly.
Correspondence
· Report from members on recent trip to Oban.
· Letter from Court Services on closure of Kells District Court and amalgamation with Navan Court District.
· Members were informed by the Town Manager that he and Jill Chadwick, Conservation Officer, meet with the National Monuments in relation to an application to re-locate the Market Cross to its previous position. The primary concern of the Department is its safety and they would require an assessment on the safety issues of the Cross.
Monthly Reports
Members raised the following matters:
Cllr S. Drew
o Complimented works at Magdalene Court, requested that railings on front wall be provided.
o Direction signage at chip shop, John Street, needs to be re-directed.
Cllr F. Lynch
o Dog fouling at Peoples Park, Lloyd.
Cllr S. Reilly
o Congratulated the Hay Festival Committee.
Cllr B Collins
o The provision of toilets at Peoples Park, due to the number of people visiting the Tower.
o Fencing off play area from dogs.
Cllr C. Ferguson
o Potholes at Headfort Grove and Gardenrath.
Members complimented the outdoor staff on the cleanliness of the town.
The Town Manager congratulated all on a very successful Hay Festival, which was coming back to the town next year.
The Manager undertook to look at the issues raised in relation to the Peoples Park, some of which were down to peoples’ civic pride.
Manager’s Orders
There were no Manager’s Orders for consideration.
Draft Kells Development Plan 2013 – 2019
Following a presentation from Padraig O’Shea, Assistant Planner, and Bernard Greene, Senior Executive Planner, it was resolved on the proposal of Cllr B. Collins, seconded by Cllr B. Reilly, to accept the Manager’s Recommendations on the Draft Plan and to place the material amendments on public display in accordance with Section 12 of the Planning & Development Acts 200-2011.
Questions to the Manager
Cllr S. Reilly
To ask the Manager to provideinformationon the compatibility and benefits of the trialArdee parking system, as previously discussed, and to ask the Manager to make a statement on the matter.
The Town Manager informed members that this scheme had been abandoned as it was unworkable. It is the intention of the Council to look at some initiatives, willing to sit down with Traders representative however the traders need to do something in return.
Cllr B. Collins
Will the Manager write to Bus Eireann asking for an update on issues raised at a meeting with Bus Eireann several months ago?
A letter has issued to Bus Eireann and a reply is awaited.
Cllr Brian Collins
Will the Manager report what are the outstanding issues relating to the taking in charge of Taylor Hall? Can a report be circulated to the Councillors outlining the status of all estates in the town?
Taylor Hall development has outstanding works to the footpaths, roads, gullies, kerbs and public lighting. Planning Enforcement issued a Warning Letter to the Developer for non compliance of planning permission. The timeframe to complete these works is nearly up and therefore an Enforcement Notice will issue next. A call has been made on the bond and planning is discussing the release of the bond with the Bank.
Notice of Motion
Cllr T. Grimes
Kells Town Council notes that there is now a window of opportunity that exists before final commitment is made to a site for the Eureka. This Council believes that the long term interests of the town will be best served by making such a decision based on the best analysis of both sites. We therefore request that an independent site comparison be carried out by the Department of Education in conjunction with Meath County Council.
Proposed by Cllr T. Grimes
Seconded by Cllr B. Collins
It was agreed to amend the motion by removing the text ‘in conjunction with Meath County Council’.
The Town Manager suggested that Meath County Council meet with the Department.
The Cathaoirleach stated that the owners of the Navan Road are willing to co-operate.
Cllr B. Collins
That Kells Town Council recognises the important role that Kells Credit Union plays in the social and financial life of the town. The Council notes with regret the decision by Kells Credit Union not to recognise the expressed wishes of its staff to be represented collectively by SIPTU. We further note that the Labour Court has recommended that Kells Credit Union "recognises SIPTU for collective bargaining purposes". For the good of the town and its people we therefore call upon both sides of the dispute to engage with each other and respect the decision of the Labour Court.
Proposed by Cllr B. Collins
Seconded by Cllr T. Grimes
Cllr Collins urged the Credit Union Board to consider their current strategy, which is not helpful for long term.
Cllr Grimes stated that members of Credit Union showed solidarity with staff and asked Board to liaise with SIPTU. He requested that recommendation from Labour Court and letter from Credit Union be written into the minutes.
Labour Court Recommendation
“The Employer in this case decided not to attend the Court Hearing or make submissions on the issues in dispute between the parties. This is regrettable, as the consequence was that Court did not have the opportunity to consider the matters in dispute from the employer’s perspective.
Having considered the uncontested submission of the Union side the Court finds merit in the claim and recommends that the Employer should recognise the Trade Union for collective bargaining purposes. The Court further recommends that the parties should enter into immediate discussions to conclude a framework agreement for the management of that relationship. Thereafter the parties should proceed to address the substantive issues in dispute.
In the event that the parties cannot reach agreement on any of these matters the Court recommends that they should avail of the service of the Labour Relations Commission and in due course, if necessary, refer any matters that remain in dispute to this Court for a definitive recommendation.”
Credit Union letter of 10th July 2013 to Kells Town Council Members
“I am writing to you regarding your proposed meeting with our employees on Monday next 15th July 2013 in the offices of the Town Council.
Kells Credit Union has always actively engaged with our employees on any issues arising and continues to do so. The current issue is an internal HR issue and is being addressed by the Credit Union. I fail to see what relevance such a matter like this would have at a Town Council meeting.
I would like to inform you as to the background to the current action by the Trade Union. Our longest serving employee is with the Credit Union 16 years and the shortest serving employee is with the Credit Union 6 years. During that time we have never had an issue that has not been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties. As you are aware Ireland is in a recession and the Credit Union is like every other enterprise in that it also felt the effects of the recession. As a result of this we had to consider staffing levels. Following consultation with staff, and to avoid letting any staff member go, some staff were placed on a 3 day week on a temporary basis until an upturn in the economy came about. Subsequently one staff member left and another went on maternity leave and this resulted in all staff returning to working the full five days. No staff salary has been cut and all entitlements are as they were before.
When our staff hours were reduced they joined SIPTU. We met with SIPTU’s representative Mr. Adrian Kane on 9th July 2012.
St Colmcilles (Kells) Credit Union has always recognised the right of its staff to join a trade union. This is evident from the Kells Credit Union Employee Handbook.
When claims to the contrary were made by Adrian Kane of SIPTU in June 2012, the Manager responded both verbally and in writing and confirmed to both Mr Kane and to the staff that the Credit Union recognises and has always recognised the right of staff to join a trade union.
SIPTU has complained that Kells Credit Union has declined to recognise SIPTU for collective bargaining purposes. This is distinct from and different to the claim by SIPTU that there is a refusal to recognise the right of a worker to join a trade union.
There are approximately 36 pieces of legislation protecting the employee. To our knowledge we are compliant with all legislation. SIPTU are not contending that we are in breach of any legislation.
The issue in dispute is collective bargaining. SIPTU would like to see collective bargaining in place, while we do not believe it is appropriate. We believe collective bargaining is appropriate where there are large numbers of personnel carrying out the same duties. The six employees of Kells Credit Union who are members of SIPTU each have different roles and varying degrees of responsibility within the organisation. For this reason it is not practicable or acceptable by us to deal with them collectively. There is no onus on us to deal with them collectively.
We regret that SIPTU continue to fail to see our point in relation to the issue of collective bargaining. We also regret that SIPTU called a one day strike on the day of the Hay Festival, an important day in the calendar of the town of Kells.
Margaret Smith
General Manager”
Cllr S Drew proposed, seconded by Cllr B. Reilly, that the notice of motion be amended as follows:
‘That Kells Town Council recognises the important role that Kells Credit Union plays in the social and financial life of the town. The Council notes the decision by Kells Credit Union not to recognise the expressed wishes of its staff to be represented collectively by SIPTU. We further note that the Labour Court has recommended that Kells Credit Union "recognises SIPTU for collective bargaining purposes". For the good of the town and its people we therefore call upon both sides of the dispute to engage with each other, with a view to achieving an early resolution.’
The amendment was carried.
Cllr B. Collins
This Council notes that 100 years ago brave workers engaged in the Dublin Lock Out and though their efforts failed in the short term the emergent Irish State through the Democratic Programme and later Bunreacht na hEireann recognised the rights of workers to join a Trade Union. This Council notes that most local authorities in Ireland passed motions condemning the workers at the time. Unfortunately due to missing records it is not known if Kells Urban District Council passed such a motion. However in recognition of the struggle of the brave workers of 1913 and in the spirit of the centenary this Council rescinds any motion passed in its history that condemned any workers in the exercise of their basic human rights.
Proposed by Cllr B. Collins
Seconded by Cllr T. Grimes
Cllr B. Reilly
That this Council calls on The Courts Serviceto immediatelyreverse its decision to close Kells Courthouse.
Proposed by Cllr B. Reilly
Seconded by Cllr S. Drew
Cllr B. Reilly stated that the decision was wrong; there was a need for Court in Kells. Navan was totally unsuitable. He requested that the TDs in Meath East and West be requested to lobby the Minister, and that the Court Services be requested to provide marking system for closure.
Any Other Business
Cllr S. Drew congratulated
o Kells Handball Club on winning All Ireland Club Championships.
o Laoise Fleming on setting a new Irish junior record in 200m backstroke at European Junior Swimming Championships in Poznan, Poland.
Cllr B. Collins
o stated that he is unable to attend the AMAI conference in September and proposed that Cllr T. Grimes attend in his place. This proposal was agreed.
o suggested that at the September meeting some form of off street parking for traders be considered.
Cllr C. Ferguson raised the matter of visit of representatives from Oban in September and suggested that members consider an agenda.
Cllr S. Reilly asked that extra spaces be sought at the Heritage Seminar in September.
A vote of sympathy was passed with the family of the late:-
Eileen Doyle
Larry Wright
This concluded the business of the meeting.
Signed: ______
Cathaoirleach
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Kells Town Council, Kells Civic Offices, Headfort Place,, Kells, County Meath
Telephone: 046 9240076, Fax: 046 9249316, web: www.meath.ie, Email: