Kieran Mulvey has said he has no intention of standing down as head of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) following criticism on Friday by Siptu leader Jack O'Connor.
Mr Mulvey said he did not see there was any reason why he should resign.
Mr O'Connor urged Mr Mulvey to quit over comments made on RTE's Morning Ireland programme in relation to the current Luas dispute.
Mr O’Connor accused Mr Mulvey of bias and of attacking one side in an industrial relations dispute. He said Mr Mulvey’s continued presence as chairperson of the WRC would damage the integrity of the institution.
Mr Mulvey in a statement said that “throughout its work in attempting to resolve the ongoing Luas dispute the focus of the WRC has been on bringing the parties together for discussions and to find an outcome that was acceptable to both parties and one that would bring to an end the not inconsiderable inconvenience being imposed on the citizens of Dublin and visitors to the capital”.
He said that in inviting Siptu and Luas operator Transdev to talks aimed at resolving the row a number of weeks ago, he was “conscious of both parties’ publicly expressed view that the WRC should intervene and I did that in good faith”.
Responding to claims made by Mr O’Connor that an alternative method of resolving the Luas dispute was under active consideration at the time of the WRC intervention, Mr Mulvey said that at no stage was the WRC made aware that an another approach to resolving the dispute was being considered.
He said the WRC only acted in response to the public statements issued by the parties and direct contact with and from them.
“When issuing the invitation I asked the company not to proceed with the supply of alternative transport on St Patrick’s Day and the company did that. For its part, the trade union called off the action planned for the day”.
Mr Mulvey said that the proposals that emerged from the WRC talks on the Luas dispute were, in his view, “the best that could be achieved at the time and he made this known to both parties”.
“I am of the opinion that both parties must surely recognise that any outcome will not be a million miles away from these proposals and ask the question does further disruption of service assist the reaching of such an agreement”.
“Jack (O’Connor) believes that in articulating this view I have somehow undermined my position in the dispute. I disagree and have no intention of standing down nor see any reason to do so.”
Call to resign
Earlier Siptu president Jack O’Connor called Mr Mulvey to resign following comments he made on RTE’s Morning Ireland.
He had “arrived at a time to depart” as head of “what is supposed to be an Independent, State sponsored medition service,” Mr O’Connor said.
He said it “simply wasn’t credible” for someone in Mr Mulvey’s position to “attack” one of the parties in an industrial dispute and still remain credible as a mediator. His presence would “damage the perception of the institute he was heading up,” he said.
Mr O’Connor said : “Someone who is paid the amount of money that Kieran Mulvey is paid by the taxpayer doesn’t have an entitlement to indulge himself in the way he did.
“He is entrusted with the responsibility for providing a mediation service between workers and employers and unions and employers.
“It is a crucial role in this State. In that position he cannot indulge himself in the way that he did.
“A person in that role has to remain detached, unbiased and neutral.
He said Mr Mulvey had “discredited himself”
“He attacked the Luas workers and the union. If he felt like that he has my number and could have let me know his concerns.
“By commenting as he did - the WRC has shot their bolt, they have no further role as mediators. We now have to find other mediators. I don’t see that under Mulvey’s leadership the WRC has any further role to play.
Minister not getting involved
Speaking on Friday afternoon, Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe said he would not be getting involved in the dispute between SIPTU President Jack O’Connor and Kieran Mulvey.
Mr Donohoe said Mr Mulvey has his full support as chairman of the WRC.
Asked if Mr O’Connor was wrong to call for his resignation, the acting Minister said: “I am not getting involved in different claims that different individuals are making at the moment.
“What I want to reiterate again is my full support for the Workplace ad Relations Commission, my full support for Kieran Mulvey and also to acknowledge that he is the same individual and organisation that unions of many different professions have engaged with over recent years including SIPTU.”
Five day Luas
Speaking on Morning Ireland on Friday, Mr Mulvey had said people may have to live with a five day Luas every week until the Luas dispute is resolved.
He said he is at a loss where the dispute is going. “I don’t know why it is continuing, I don’t know what is the problem”.
“Most union officials if they went back to their members with those proposals from the Commission would have been given a standing ovation.
“A lot of public servants would like those kind of proposals – teachers, nurses, doctors, civil servants,” he said on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme.
He said it was “extraordinary” that no one from Siptu has contacted him since WRC proposals were rejected.
The WRC’s services were always available to parties “but not to be abused” , he said.
Leadership
Mr Mulvey said the WRC felt its voice was not being heard. “We have no powers of compulsion, neither do we require them. We would like to think that the private and privileged advice given during negotiations would be listened to, not thrown back in our faces.
“The parties have to think of a new way to settle this. It is not an unending series of negotiations.
“There is a need for leadership, a need for judgement. The parties need to know when to depart the battlefield.
“By any mark the proposals of the Commission are considerable in the context of other agreements we’ve assisted.
“Leadership has to come from both sides. When a dispute gets to such a state the voice of reason needs to prevail as to whether people depart the battleground and come back another time.
He said it would be “ disastrous” for the Minster for Transport to intervene. “It would totally undermine the work of the WRC.”
Strikes
The light rail system is set to come to a standstill again this weekend as Luas workers stage two more days of strike action as part of a campaign for improved pay and conditions.
Two more days of strikes by Luas staff, who are represented by Siptu, are scheduled for later this month.
The pay proposals which were rejected last week by staff would have involved increases in earnings for many drivers of up to 18 per cent over three years.
Staff at Luas initially sought pay rises of up to 53 per cent. They subsequently revised their claim down to about 27 per cent. They have also sought improvements in conditions of employment.