‘Nothing can be ruled out’ in Cliffs centre dispute

THE union involved in an industrial dispute with The Cliffs of Moher Centre Limited has said it expects the employer to honour its obligations to staff even though the company claims this is unviable.
Industrial action could be taken at the centre, which employs 24 full-time employees and more during the summer, if a row over pay is not resolved.  SIPTU branch organiser, Tony Kenny, has said that at the moment “nothing can be ruled out”.
Cliffs of Moher Centre Limited released a statement earlier this week saying it would not implement a Labour Court recommendation that the company should apply local authority pay structures at the tourist facility. It claimed that it would make the Cliffs of Moher Centre “unviable.”
According to company manager Katherine Webster, “The effect of implementing the Labour Court recommendation would lead to an annual cost increase of the order of €400,000, which the centre would not be able to sustain and which would seriously undermine our future viability”.
According to the company which manages and operates the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre (pictured below) on behalf of the owners Clare County Council, the centre broke even in 2007 but “has made significant losses in 2008 and 2009 owing to the downturn in visitor numbers and the challenging tourism environment, which is expected to continue during the remainder of 2010.”
Ms Webster noted that, on average, there been a 25% decline in visitor numbers at tourist attractions throughout the country in the first five months of the year, with a corresponding 15% drop-off in numbers at the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre during the same period.
“The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience has been operated on a commercial basis since it opened in 2007. The entire ethos, culture and approach has always been that the centre forms part of the wider region’s tourism product, and it operates and competes with other tourist attractions and regions,” she added.
Mr Kenny rejects claims that the centre would become unviable if the Labour Court recommendation is implemented.
“Bearing in mind the significant level of exchequer monies that were given towards the project, we would expect that one arm of the State would recognise the integrity of the outcome of the State’s industrial relations dispute resolution procedures.
“It is unfortunate that the Clare County Council owned Cliffs of Moher Company continue to rehash the same arguments that they made before the Labour Relations Commission Conciliation Service and the Labour Court, even now. These arguments, despite a very costly defence by the employer, who employed a legal team and HR consultant, were found wanting by the Labour Court. It is also unfortunate that the employer has chosen to use the media as a mechanism for communication in recent times rather than face to face direct discussions with this union’s officials”, Mr Kenny said.
Mr Kenny said that SIPTU would now discuss the current situation with its members before deciding on a course of action.
“At this point in time, nothing can be ruled out”, he commented. “In the interim, we call on the county manager, the Clare County Council controlled two person board of directors of the company and the locally elected county councillors to ensure that this company complies with the Labour Court recommendation.
“For the past three years, we have pursued this case through the State’s dispute resolution procedures”, he said, “and now, finally, when we are proven right, it is unfair that the employer just walks away from the table. We expect this employer to honour its obligations.”