SIPTU has secured sole collective bargaining rights in Research Ireland following an organising campaign by Union activists in the new agency which funds research and innovation.
The employer had refused to engage with SIPTU representatives despite being a fully publicly funded body with more than 80% of staff in Union membership.
SIPTU members had been brought into a dispute with the organisation concerning the proposed transfer of Science Foundation Ireland into the new entity Research Ireland.
The matter was referred to the Workplace Relations Commission following our members receiving notification that the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science had instructed that the legal transfer of Science Foundation Ireland to Research Ireland would take place on 1st August 2024, giving staff a mere five working days’ notice.
SIPTU wrote to the Department and Science Foundation Ireland to inform them that they had breached their employees’ rights regarding the legal necessity for a 30-day notification period. A conciliation conference was held and the proposals that emerged from this were voted on and accepted by SIPTU members.