Arts Council staff set to vote on industrial action

Staff at the Arts Council headquarters in Dublin are expected to vote shortly on industrial action. They are said to be unhappy that the programme for the implementation of the new Arts Plan, announced in July, has not yet been put in place. There are also deep concerns about management style at the council, where morale is said to be low.

A brief statement from the Arts Council director, Ms Patricia Quinn, last night acknowledged anxieties among the 32 staff at Merrion Square.

"It is inevitable in a period of transition that there would be some elements of anxiety about the type of change required, and concerns have been raised by staff about the implications for their working conditions," she said.

"The Arts Council has made a number of proposals to address these concerns and is involved in ongoing discussions with SIPTU, which represents the majority of staff."

A spokeswoman for Ms Quinn said there was "quite a deal of tension" at the Merrion Square offices and that "to a certain extent the staff concerns are shared by us [management]".

She pointed out that the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, which has a budget of less than half that of the Arts Council in the Republic, had 40 staff whereas there were just 32 at the Merrion Square headquarters.

Regarding criticisms of management style, the spokeswoman described the management as dynamic. She added that people seemed to be "focusing on personality rather than structure". She also rejected criticisms by the Rights Commissioner, Ms Janet Hughes.

In a review of Labour Court recommendations, made three years ago, Ms Hughes wrote last June that "some staff appear reluctant to use the term partnership in the context of union/management relations. Such a term is viewed with suspicion."

Despite the creation of nine new posts following the Labour Court recommendations, she found that what had been done since was "not a correct interpretation of the agreement reached at the LRC [Labour Relations Court] of the consolidation of their agreement by the Labour Court."

Ms Hughes had "encountered palpable resentment among staff at each level regarding the implementation of the Labour Court recommendations and particularly the manner of that implementation. If this resentment is not to become destructive and thus hinder the Arts Council in its work, management and staff and SIPTU must develop a coherent structured agenda to tackle certain very real staff issues."

Ms Hughes was also critical of staff at the council. "Silence is compliance," she said, "and criticism after the event has a certain validity but it is by no means as effective as advance notice of dissent or dissatisfaction."