"Urgent Update from Concerned ICU Members"
Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 10:53 am
An email that was circulated by Rachel Linney recently.
Concerned ICU Members wrote:To whom it may concern.
Urgent Update from Concerned ICU Members
26/05/11
Reality of our ICU as of 26thMay 2011.
Update on situation regarding CEO Michael Scanlon.
- Eight months without a CEO. How long is this going to go on?
- There was no evidence of an immediate threat at any time to the organisation, warranting such excessive actions by the directors. That is an immediate rush down the very expensive legal and consultant investigative route.
- These said actions taken by the directors now look to be a threat far more serious than that ever allegedly posed by the CEO, and do now appear to have the potential to destroy our organisation!
- The ICU Office Administrator of 7 years, Anita Gordon has resigned in protest as to the direction the ICU has taken under the current executive.
- ICU National Training Officer of the past 10 years, Connor Ryan, has now also handed in his notice as he could not continue with the current regime. Why ??
- High Performance Grant cut from €190,000 in 2010 to €103,000 in 2011. A cut of 46%. This is an unprecedented Sports Council cut, not just in canoeing but in any sport that we are aware of. Even under the current financial climate some sports had their grants increased this year.
- A European Regional Development Grant which is in excess of €100,000 over 3 years has been lost.
- A disciplinary process now ongoing for over eight months with no end in sight!
- Unknown but potentially catastrophic legal, investigative and financial liabilities, even taking into account the outcome of the recent court injunction. Where will this money come from?
- Reputational damage for canoeing in Ireland with organisations and bodies critical to the future of our sport.
- Appalling lack of communication from the Directors of the ICU to the membership.
- In summary, with 3 of our 4 staff gone or suspended, our financial and legal liabilities looking ever more precarious, and directors that will not communicate with their members at a time of severe turbulence means our organisation is now in a critical state. If something is not done post haste it may be irretrievable for ever!
Michael Scanlon would dearly like to go public. However due to the very early deployment of legal people by the directors he has been silenced while there is ongoing and pending legal and disciplinary actions. As he is the only person who is personally threatened with the traumatic loss of livelihood, financial and reputational damage he cannot overlook this risk. As soon as the opportunity prevails he plans on making a full statement.
This limitation has left Michael at a serious disadvantage and created a chasm that has been filled, by a select few, with doubt, innuendo and negative inference.
To introduce some level of fairness and to redress that imbalance we as a group of concerned members wish to comment as follows in response to the directors letter dated 31st March last;
However it is important to understand that this is just an injunction against the process and not a court case. There are other substantive issues which have to be dealt with at a full hearing and while costs have been awarded against him, but not yet determined, these will not be decided untill there is a full hearing. Also it does not have any implication for whatever outcome may result from future court cases or disciplinary processes.
- FACT; While included in the said contract, the Nov 06 contract of employment did not alter or increase his salary by a single cent. The salary included had been implemented 11 months earlier in Jan 06 prior to any plan to implement any new contract.
- FACT; Michael’s salary was last agreed by the board in 1998 with a set figure increase each year thereafter. These minutes are available and also this agreement was actually recognised by the director’s investigator. Ever since that time Michael varied his salary himself, by either taking his agreed increment, not taking any increase, taking an increased increment or actually taking a reduction in salary.
He decided this annually depending on how he judged the ability of the ICU to fund his salary on a given year.
On an accumulative basis he was always actually paid less than what he was actually owed.- Fact; For some unknown reason the investigator ignores the years when Michael took significantly less than his due despite the ICU being the accumulative net benefactor!
- FACT; A saving to the ICU approaching €100,000 to our ICU from 1998 to the time of his suspension.
- FACT; Pension benefits had no connection whatsoever with the Nov 06 Contract and were actually dismissed as a complaint by the Directors own investigator.
- FACT; A saving similar to that of his salary costs to our ICU by again not taking his full entitlements and this includes the cost of his VHI.
- FACT;The CEO did not decline to attend a disciplinary committee of the board but was refused permission by the directors to bring his solicitor. He was advised he would be allowed a trade union official or a working colleague. He was never a member of a trade union and all of his working colleagues were junior to him so he thought it very unfair to ask any of them to attend. Also as one of the members of the said sub-committee is an actual solicitor he felt the balance of power was unjustly weighed against him and felt he just could not go it alone. He did also request the case be referred to an outside body such as Just Sport Ireland or the Labour Relations Commission. This was also refused. Consequently he applied to the high court for an injunction against the process going ahead.
- FACT;The high court declined to grant Michael the injunction as it considered he had not fully exhausted the process as prescribed by the directors and that his concerns, regarding the accuracy of the investigator’s report, could be addressed by the committee.
Judge Murphy recommended that Michael again be offered to attend a disciplinary hearing.It was never the wish or the intention of any of the 17 clubs who called for an EDM to debate their concerns via email or in an open forum. Open public access forums, should not and have never been an appropriate place for matters of serious concern to the clubs and individual members of the Irish Canoe Union. The clubs wished to address none other than their concerns for the reputational, financial and organisational well-being of the Irish Canoe Union. This was and absolutely remains their sole concern.
- FACT;Incidents of failure of corporate governance have occurred but there was nothing of such a serious nature that could not have been easily, quickly and far less costly resolved and corrected through the deployment of the commonest of industrial relations disciplinary procedures. That is an internal investigation, a disciplinary hearing, application of sanctions with right of appeal. Thus obviating the need for normally very costly external investigators, solicitors and barristers from the get go. In addition with far less damage to our organisation.
- FACT; Corporate governance is first and foremost the responsibility of the board of directors. The continuous abdication of duty by successive ICU Boards, in regard to detailed issues of governance, created an environment in which the CEO was left to do everything himself. Consequently there was no segregation of duties between Operations Management and direction of governance. This was done on a basis of trust and any financial changes made have been always recorded in the accounts and audited.
- FACT; The corroborating evidence for the above is contained both in the many years of very detailed audits covering all of this period, and in data collated especially for this investigation.
The only proper, appropriate, constitutional way to discuss and address these concerns is within the structure and professional confines of an EDM.
In compliance with the constitution there is neither obligation nor requirement that any club seeking an EDM must explain to the executive in advance of an EDM the reasons why.
The legal action referred to in the correspondence of April 28th, a legal process begun by the directors themselves, is concerned with the process of the interaction between the CEO and the Union and it would be the view that this has no bearing on the holding of an EDM to discuss the reputational, financial and well-being of the Union.
The constitutional date for the holding of this EDM, 12th May, has now been surpassed and in consequence the ICU directors themselves are now in contravention of the ICU constitution.
In keeping with the constitution of the Irish Canoe Union should this EDM not be called before June 12thth we recommend to all clubs to proceed with holding an EDM.
What’s going on here is just not right and we all have a duty to a member to put it right!
Should you as a club agree with this letter please confirm your continued support for the holding of an EDM as per our previous update.
We will be in touch following your reply.
Yours Sincerely,
Concerned ICU Members.