The Labour Court has said a dispute over Wexford County Council’s decision to bar experienced library staff from interviews for full-time posts should be resolved through negotiations. IMPACT, the union that represents the workers, welcomed the Court’s intervention and called on management to immediately enter talks to resolve the row.

IMPACT’s Wexford official Shay Clinton said the four part-time workers involved had been seeking full-time posts for some time, and had worked extra hours to help retain branch library services during the crisis-era ban on local authority recruitment.

“These women put their shoulder to the wheel to keep libraries open during the recession. Instead of showing its appreciation, the Council is now barring them from competing for full time library assistant posts. Now that we finally have the scope for some recruitment in local authorities, it’s shameful that these staff were not allowed to interview for full-time posts,” he said.

Shay said there were wider questions over the recruitment process in Wexford county council, where an independent adjudicator is expected to rule on another issue soon.