Cancer survivor Brendan Ogle to appeal WRC rejection of claim he was discriminated against

Trade unionist Brendan Ogle is appealing the Workplace Relations Commission’s rejection of his claim that he was discriminated against at work as a cancer survivor by Unite.
Mr Ogle filed notice of appeal on Thursday morning.
The WRC’s decision on his case was “not consistent with evidence submitted and is not good law”, he said.
“It is important for me and other cancer survivors returning to work that the Labour Court adjudicates on these matters,” he said.
Last month, the commission rejected claims that another union official, Tom Fitzgerald, told Mr Ogle he had been directed to write him out of the union’s strategic plan for Ireland, a plan which he then proceeded to write it up on a whiteboard.
In response to the appeal, Unite said the tribunal decision was “clear and unambiguous” and said the evidence given by its witnesses “held sway on all issues of dispute”.
Mr Ogle’s account of the meeting had been likened to a scene with a “Bond villain” by one of the union’s lawyers – and was rejected as not being “plausible” by an adjudicator as the tribunal dismissed the complaint under the Employment Equality Act 1998.
Mr Ogle’s case was that he was sidelined when he went back to work in the summer of 2022 after being treated for a “very aggressive” throat cancer which saw him lose four and a half stone in weight while “living off fluids for six months”.
“The prognosis wasn’t good … They throw everything at you until you can’t take any more – until I literally and physically collapsed,” he said.
The WRC also heard that Mr Ogle had also issued defamation proceedings against Unite’s former chairman Tony Woodhouse over remarks at union conference in Malahide in September 2022 referring to “lies that were being told” about Unite on social media.
Mr Ogle contended this was a reference to a Facebook post by his wife, Mandy La Combre, referring to his situation at work.
Internal processes failed to resolve the dispute, the tribunal heard.
In a statement, Unite said: “Unite will of course review any appeal lodged by Mr Ogle and follow due process in dealing with it. If such an appeal was heard Unite would have a strong expectation that the WRC decision will be upheld.”