Prosecutions in serious criminal cases next month could be hampered by a dispute over promotions in the State's Forensic Science Laboratory, the trade union, IMPACT, has warned.
The union said yesterday that 48 scientific and technical staff are set to refuse to take on new cases from February 8th, "unless the Department of Justice introduces an adequate career structure which reflects the massive increase in forensic work over recent years". Union official Mr Peter Nolan said the Department of Justice had offered four new promotions after two years of discussions, but the union wants 15 promotions.
Mr Nolan said the laboratory's scientific staff were "routinely doing work appropriate to more senior grades" and a number of staff had left the laboratory to take up jobs in industry.
In a statement last night, the Department of Justice said it had "recently made an offer of a number of promotions". It added that the Department had not received a response and was consequently surprised at IMPACT's comments.
