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The operators of Go Safe speed detection cameras have used their time in the vans during monitoring sessions to learn musical instruments and study for diplomas and degrees, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has heard.
Kevin Bell BL, counsel for Go Safe, told a WRC hearing in Ennis that company staff are not required to look at the speed camera at all times.
He said that during two-hour monitoring sessions Go Safe employees are required to remain in the vans to maintain a chain of evidence for any speeding prosecutions that go to court.
Four Go Safe employees, represented by Siptu workers’ rights advocate Andrea Cleere, allege at the WRC that Go Safe is in breach of workplace legislation concerning the taking of rest breaks.
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Mr Bell said that Go Safe monitoring staff “have used monitoring sessions to learn musical instruments, to study for diplomas and degrees” and that they “use the two hour monitoring session more or less as they see fit”.
Go Safe is contracted by the State to deploy speed detection vans across the country’s road network. Mr Bell told the hearing that, on average, the vans detect between one and two speeding vehicles per hour during a monitoring session.
Constant monitoring
Cavan based Go Safe operator Niall Walsh said he was required to monitor the speed detection camera “constantly due to changing weather conditions”.
Asked by Ms Cleere does he have the opportunity to take rest breaks, Mr Walsh said: “I would be able to but then I wouldn’t be able to monitor the equipment.”
The three other complainants are Go Safe employees based out of the firm’s Portlaoise depot and Ms Cleere said these workers are required to take their break at their work station while maintaining constant engagement with work activities.
Mr Bell said that Mr Walsh and other Go Safe monitoring staff are not required to watch cars from the van.
He asked Mr Walsh if it would it satisfy his concerns that he does not have to monitor the equipment and was free to do what he liked in the van during his rest time, as is the current situation.
Mr Walsh replied: “I would have to know a lot more detail about that.”
Mr Bell told the hearing that “the complainants have said during monitoring sessions they are required to look at cameras at all times - that is incorrect”. He also stated that the complainants “have all asserted that they are not permitted to leave vehicles during their breaks and that allegation is incorrect”.
Stretch legs
Mr Bell stated that Go Safe has a policy in place concerning employees being able to leave the vehicles during their breaks to stretch their legs and get some fresh air.
He said the policy has safety and security safeguards in place “as speed cameras aren’t popular within the country and are at risk of vandalism and monitoring operators are at the risk of assault”.
“The operator is entitled to leave the van during their breaks and therefore the entire premise of the claim that their breaks are not in compliance with statute clearly falls away because they are allowed to leave the van at their discretion,” he said.
Mr Bell stated that the interior of the vans have been designed to be a comfortable workspace and operators are constantly canvassed for feedback and suggestions for improvements. He stated that a Labour Court ruling has already found that a vehicle is absolutely satisfactory as a location for taking a statutory break.
The WRC will issue its determination in the case at a future date.