Speed camera firm urged to recognise unions
The company which operates the speed camera system in Ireland has been urged to abandon its refusal to recognise trade unions.
The Labour Court has recommended that Go Safe, which holds the five-year contract worth €115m to operate safety cameras for An Garda Síochána, should engage with Siptu on employment-related issues with its workers.
At a recent hearing, lawyers for Go Safe claimed it uses a “monitoring operators forum” with employee participation which deals with proposed changes to business as well as pay and issues relating to terms and conditions of employment.
It said the company had a successful history of negotiating with its staff and any trade dispute could be dealt with through its existing internal dispute resolution process.
The Labour Court was told that it was Go Safe’s preference to engage with its staff directly through established forums.
Although a recommendation by the Labour Court is non-binding, it is expected to be given serious consideration by the affected party.
Siptu referred the dispute to the Labour Court last August with the union agreeing to be bound by any recommendation arising out of the proceedings.
Union representatives claimed Go Safe operators worked under severe conditions and were confined to their van for the full duration of their shift which could last between nine and 11 hours.
Siptu officials claim the company refused to engage with the union, despite the State paying for its services.
It argued that Go Safe should recognise Siptu as the representative of its staff for both collective and individual negotiation for its members.
The Labour Court heard that there was a collective agreement in relation to a number of issues in place at Go Safe which would run up until December 2019 but that the company was not willing to engage with Siptu.
Having heard representations from both parties, the Labour Court recommended that Go Safe should recognise the union as the representative of its employees who were members of Siptu and engage with it on employment issues.
Go Safe is owned by a consortium which comprises Spectra, a firm owned by Kerry businessman Xavier McAuliffe, and French company Egis, which own 42% each, as well as Australian traffic enforcement firm Redflex.
A former chief executive of Redflex’s US subsidiary, Karen Finley, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $2m (€1.73m) by a US federal court in 2016 for her role in a bribery scheme to win speed camera contracts in Chicago.
Under the current contract, Go Safe provides a minimum of 7,400 enforcement hours at over 1,000 high-risk locations and a maximum of 100 survey hours per month across the Republic’s road network.
