The introduction of a privatised pay-and-display parking service in Newbridge, Co Kildare, faces delay because of a row over the potential impact on the town's traffic warden.
Kildare County Council, which had planned to introduce the service in January, has been told by the Labour Court that it should enter a consultation process with SIPTU on the issue.
The union represents the sole traffic/litter warden employed in Newbridge. Her terms and conditions would not be changed, the council has said.
Problems with on-street and illegal parking in the town led to the council's decision to bring in by-laws allowing for the introduction of a pay-and-display system.
It put the service out to tender and, following a public procurement process, advised the union last November of the proposed new service and the name of the party selected to operate it.
SIPTU told the Labour Court that the council was privatising the traffic warden service without prior consultation or agreement. The council had not proved to the union that it was cheaper to employ contractors than direct labour. It believed privatisation of traffic warden duties was a national issue and should be referred to the national implementation body of Sustaining Progress.
The council, however, told the court that all local authorities traditionally provided services through a combination of direct labour and contractors. The court said the council was proposing to contract out a service not previously privatised, not only in Kildare, but nationally.
