Clerical officers in the Department of Agriculture have taken a High Court challenge to the Minister's decision to remove them from the payroll from April 28th. They took industrial action because of an alleged failure to provide new promotional and grading structures.
The industrial action has also led to separate High Court proceedings initiated on Monday by a number of dry-stock farmers against the Minister of Agriculture.
They claim they have been adversely affected by the dispute through the failure to return cattle passports to them.
Their case is due before the court again today.
Proceedings by 13 officers in the Department's office in Clonakilty, Co Cork, opened yesterday before Ms Justice Carroll.
One of the Cork workers, Ms Marie Fuller, Kilnahera, Drimoleague, said in an affidavit the action arose from an industrial dispute between the Civil and Public Service Union (CPSU) and the Department regarding the promotional and grading structures in local offices.
CPSU members had been engaged in limited industrial action State-wide and had been removed from the payroll.
Since then, they had placed a picket on the Department's offices.
The Minister in a statement of opposition alleged the officials, by refusing to perform their core duties while present at their workplace, were absent from duty without authority and the Department acted lawfully in removing them from the payroll.
The Minister denied the officials were not afforded fair procedures before removing them from the payroll.
Mr Joe Shortall, the Department personnel officer, said in an affidavit the dispute arose out of demands by the CPSU that the Minister increase the number of posts in the staff officer and executive officer grades around the country.
The Department believed this demand amounted to a "costs- increasing claim" and both the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness and its successor, the Sustaining Progress, precluded such a claim.
Department officials and CPSU officers had met but failed to date to reach agreement.
The hearing continues today.