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20 1958

GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY ACT, 1958

PART III.

Staff.

Transfer of officers and servants of the outgoing Board.

14. —(1) Subject to subsection (2), every person who, immediately before the transfer date, was an officer or servant of the outgoing Board and was then resident in the State shall on that date become an officer or servant of the Board on the same terms and conditions of service.

(2) (a) Any such officer or servant who, immediately before the transfer date, was a member of the Railway Clearing System Superannuation Fund shall continue to be an officer or servant of the outgoing Board and shall, on and after that date, be seconded for duty to the Board.

(b) The obligations, whether obtaining legally or by customary practice, of the outgoing Board under the Railway Clearing System Superannuation Fund in respect of every such officer or servant shall continue to be binding on the outgoing Board and, after the dissolution of the outgoing Board, shall bind the Board.

(c) All moneys from time to time required by the outgoing Board to discharge its obligations in respect of any such officer or servant shall on demand be paid to it by the Board.

(d) All the rights and obligations conferred or imposed on the outgoing Board by the contract of service or by law in respect of an officer or servant so seconded shall, save as provided by paragraph (b), be rights and obligations of the Board.

(e) On the dissolution of the outgoing Board every seconded officer or servant then in its service shall become an officer or servant of the Board on the same terms and conditions of service.

(3) (a) The obligations, whether obtaining legally or by customary practice, of the outgoing Board under the Railway Clearing System Superannuation Fund in respect of every person who, immediately before the transfer date, is entitled to benefit under that Fund and who was resident in the State when he first became so entitled shall continue to be binding on the outgoing Board and, after the dissolution of the outgoing Board, shall bind the Board.

(b) All moneys from time to time required by the outgoing Board to discharge its obligations in respect of any such person shall on demand be paid to it by the Board.

Continuance of existing superannuation schemes in relation to employees and former employees of outgoing Board.

15. —(1) In this section—“existing superannuation scheme” means a pension or staff fund referred to in the scheduled agreement in so far as it applies to—

(a) any former officer or servant of the outgoing Board transferred or seconded to the Board, or

(b) any person who, immediately before the transfer date, is entitled to benefit under any such fund and who was resident in the State when he first became so entitled;

member” means any such former officer or servant or person so entitled.

(2) The outgoing Board shall transfer to the Board the securities and moneys held by it for the purposes of an existing superannuation scheme certified by an actuary appointed jointly by the Minister and the Ministry to be appropriate to its members to be held by the Board for the same purposes.

(3) The Board, subject to the approval of the Minister, shall from time to time appoint trustees for the purposes of any existing superannuation scheme and shall transfer the securities and moneys held by it for the purposes of the scheme to the said trustees.

(4) Subject to the provisions of this section, every existing superannuation scheme and the management thereof shall, on and after the transfer date, continue in being.

(5) For the purposes of any enactment and of rules and regulations relating to any existing superannuation scheme, the following provisions shall, on and after the transfer date, have effect:

(a) any power of the outgoing Board or any officer thereof in relation to the said scheme may be exercised by the Board or any officer of the Board authorised by the Board in that behalf;

(b) the service or employment or dismissal under or by the Board of any officer or servant of the outgoing Board who is employed by the Board shall be deemed to be service or employment or dismissal under or by the outgoing Board;

(c) where under the rules of the said scheme the outgoing Board is empowered to appoint officers and servants to any managing committee, the Board in exercising those powers shall appoint officers or servants of the Board who are members of the said scheme or who, but for this Act or the Act of 1953, would have been eligible for appointment to such managing committee.

(6) The obligations, whether obtaining legally or by customary practice, of the outgoing Board in respect of any existing superannuation scheme and in respect of every member of the said existing superannuation scheme shall be binding on the Board.

(7) All persons who are or have been members of any existing superannuation scheme and all persons claiming in right of any such members shall be entitled to the same benefits, rights and privileges and subject to the same obligations, whether obtaining legally or by customary practice, as such persons would have been or might have become entitled or subject to but for this Act.

(8) Any former officer or servant of the outgoing Board transferred to the Board who is not a member of any existing superannuation scheme shall, so long as he remains in the service of the Board, have the same right (if any) to become a member of any such scheme as he would have had but for this Act if he had remained in the service of the outgoing Board.

(9) An officer or servant of the Board who is a member of an existing superannuation scheme shall not be eligible to become a member of a superannuation scheme established before the transfer date for employees of the Board.

(10) The Board may whenever it thinks proper prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme amending (whether by addition, omission or variation) an existing superannuation scheme or amending, as aforesaid, or revoking an amending scheme under this section for the time being in force, and subsections (2), (3), (4) and (6) of section 44 of the Transport Act, 1950 , shall apply in relation to every scheme submitted under this section.

(11) Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the Board from amending an existing superannuation scheme in accordance with a power in that behalf contained therein.

(13) References in this section to an existing superannuation have been set up under an irrevocable trust.

(13) References in this section to an existing superannuation scheme are to the scheme as adapted by section 40 of the Act of 1953.

Continuance of existing superannuation schemes in relation to employees of Dundalk Works.

16. —(1) In this section—

existing superannuation scheme” means a pension or staff fund referred to in the scheduled agreement in so far as it applies to any former officer or servant of the outgoing Board employed by the Company, such fund being taken as having continued to apply to him after such employment;

member” means any such former officer or servant.

(2) The outgoing Board shall transfer to the Company the securities and moneys held by it for the purposes of an existing superannuation scheme certified by an actuary appointed jointly by the Minister and the Ministry to be appropriate to its members, to be held by the Company for the same purposes.

(3) The Company, subject to the approval of the Minister, shall from time to time appoint trustees for the purposes of any existing superannuation scheme and shall transfer the securities and moneys held by it for the purposes of the scheme to the said trustees.

(4) Subject to the provisions of this section, every existing superannuation scheme and the management thereof shall, on and after the transfer date, continue in being.

(5) For the purposes of any enactment and of rules and regulations relating to any existing superannuation scheme, the following provisions shall, on and after the transfer date, have effect:

(a) any power of the outgoing Board or any officer thereof in relation to the said scheme may be exercised by the Company or any officer of the Company authorised by the Company in that behalf;(b) the service or employment or dismissal under or by the Company of any former officer or servant of the outgoing Board who is employed by the Company shall be deemed to be service or employment or dismissal under or by the outgoing Board;

(c) where under the rules of the said scheme the outgoing Board is empowered to appoint officers and servants to any managing committee, the Company in exercising those powers shall appoint officers or servants of the Company who are members of the said scheme.

(6) The obligations, whether obtaining legally or by customary practice, of the outgoing Board in respect of any existing superannuation scheme and in respect of every member of the said existing superannuation scheme shall be binding on the Company.

(7) All persons who are or have been members of any existing superannuation scheme and all persons claiming in right of any such members shall continue to be entitled to the same benefits, rights and privileges and subject to the same obligations, whether obtaining legally or by customary practice, as heretofore.

(8) Any former officer or servant of the outgoing Board employed by the Company who is not a member of any existing superannuation scheme shall, so long as he remains in the service of the Company, have the same right (if any) to become a member of any such scheme as heretofore.

(9) Where a member of an existing superannuation scheme leaves the service of the Company the trustees of the scheme may, on the application of the member and if the Minister, having regard to all the circumstances, so thinks proper, transfer the proportion of the amount to the credit of the scheme properly attributable to him to any other superannuation scheme of which he becomes a member.

(10) Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the Company from amending an existing superannuation scheme in accordance with a power in that behalf contained therein.

(11) An existing superannuation scheme shall be deemed to have been set up under an irrevocable trust.

(12) References in this section to an existing superannuation scheme are to the scheme as adapted by section 40 of the Act of 1953.

Compensation for employees of Board and former employees of outgoing Board in cases of dismissal or transfer.

17. —(1) This section shall have effect in the following cases:

(a) where, as a consequence of the vesting on the transfer date of the part of the undertaking of the outgoing Board within the State, the Board, within five years after the passing of this Act, dispenses with the services of an officer or servant (including an officer or servant transferred or seconded under section 14) or transfers him to another position in its service;

(b) where, before the transfer date, the outgoing Board, as a consequence of ceasing to provide a service of trains, dispensed with the services of an officer or servant or transferred him to another position in its service, and the officer or servant was resident in the State at the time of his dismissal or transfer;

(c) where the Board ceases to provide or permanently reduces any transport service by rail or inland waterway or substitutes diesel for steam traction or where an order is made under section 9 of the Transport Act, 1958 , in relation to a specified level crossing and as a consequence thereof the Board, within five years after the passing of that Act, either dispenses with the services of an officer or servant (being an officer or servant transferred or seconded under section 14) or transfers him to another position in its service.

(2) This section applies only to an officer or servant who at the date of his dismissal or transfer was employed in a permanent capacity or who was, except for casual interruptions of employment, employed, whether by the outgoing Board or by the Board, during the whole of the preceding three years.

(3) A person to whom this section applies shall be entitled to compensation under section 14 of the Transport Act, 1958 , to the same extent and on the same conditions as a person to whom that section applies, but, in construing for the purposes of this subsection the Second Schedule to the Transport Act, 1958 , that Schedule shall be deemed to contain an additional paragraph as follows:

“8. (a) References in the Fourth Schedule to the Act of 1950 to a former transport company shall be construed as including references to the Great Northern Railway Board and the Great Northern Railway Company (Ireland).

(b) References in the said Fourth Schedule to a former road transport licensee shall be construed as including references to a person who was the holder of a passenger licence, within the meaning of the Road Transport Act, 1932 , or of a merchandise (existing carrier's) licence within the meaning of the Road Transport Act, 1933 , and whose said licence was transferred to the Great Northern Railway Board or the Great Northern Railway Company (Ireland).

(c) For the purpose of reckoning the pensionable service of a person under the said Fourth Schedule—

(i) the pensionable service shall include any service (having been with a former road transport licensee within the meaning of the said Fourth Schedule or of that Schedule as extended by subparagraph (b) of this paragraph) which is recognised for the purpose of an existing superannuation scheme as defined in section 15 of the Great Northern Railway Act, 1958 , and

(ii) if the person was taken into the employment of the Board as a specially qualified person at an age exceeding that at which transport service usually began, his pensionable service may be increased by the addition of such number of years as may seem just.”

(4) The references to the said section 14 in sections 15 and 17 of the Transport Act, 1958 , shall be construed as including references to this section.

Compensation for employees of Irish Railway Clearing House in cases of dismissal or transfer.

18. —(1) This section shall have effect where, as a consequence of the undertaking of the outgoing Board having ceased to be vested in that Board, the Irish Railway Clearing House, within five years after the passing of this Act, dispenses with the services of an officer or servant or transfers him to another position in its service.

(2) This section applies only to an officer or servant who at the date of his dismissal was employed in a permanent capacity or who was, except for casual interruptions of employment, employed by the Irish Railway Clearing House during the whole of the preceding three years.

(3) If his services are dispensed with, he shall be paid by the Irish Railway Clearing House compensation calculated in accordance with the Second Schedule to the Transport Act, 1958 .

(4) If he is transferred to another position and thereby suffers a worsening of his conditions of service as an officer or servant of the Irish Railway Clearing House, he shall be paid by the Irish Railway Clearing House compensation consisting of a lump sum of such amount as is reasonable.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4) of this section—

(a) an officer or servant of the Irish Railway Clearing House shall be deemed to suffer a worsening of his conditions of service as an officer or servant thereof if, having been transferred, without his consent, by the Irish Railway Clearing House from one position to another in its service, by reason thereof he suffers any direct pecuniary loss or is in a worse position in respect of the conditions of his service as a whole (including tenure of office or employment, remuneration, gratuities, superannuation, sick fund or other benefits or allowances, whether obtaining legally or by customary practice and whether applicable to himself or his widow or children or other dependants) as compared with those obtaining in respect of him before the transfer;

(b) an officer or servant of the Irish Railway Clearing House, who is transferred by the Irish Railway Clearing House from one position in its service to another, shall be deemed to suffer a worsening of his conditions of service as an officer or servant thereof if he is required by the Irish Railway Clearing House to perform in the position to which he is so transferred duties which are not analogous to or are an unreasonable addition to those which before the transfer he was required to perform in the position from which he was so transferred.

(6) Sections 41, 42 and 43 of the Act of 1950 (which relate to the determination of compensation under that Act) shall apply to compensation under this section, references to the Board being construed as references to the Irish Railway Clearing House.

(7) In construing for the purposes of this section the Second Schedule to the Transport Act, 1958 , and the Fourth Schedule (as applied by the said Second Schedule) to the Transport Act, 1950

(a) in paragraph 5 of the said Second Schedule “the Irish Railway Clearing House or ” shall be inserted before “a local authority” and “from the Irish Railway Clearing House” shall be substituted for “from the Board”;

(b) in subclause (ii) of clause (a) of subparagraph (2) of paragraph 1 of the said Fourth Schedule, “if that person had service with a former transport company,” shall be deleted, and

(c) in subparagraph (b) of paragraph 4 of the said Fourth Schedule, “the Irish Railway Clearing House” shall be substituted for “the Board”.

Existing compensation provisions.

19. —(1) Section 38 of the Act of 1953, which provides for compensation in certain cases of dismissal or transfer of officers and servants, shall not apply to a person to whom section 17 applies.

(2) The repeal of the said section 38 shall not affect the right of any person entitled to compensation under it to the payment or continuance of such compensation.