Labour Court Database __________________________________________________________________________________ File Number: CD90563 Case Number: LCR13085 Section / Act: S67 Parties: BOXMORE PLASTICS LIMITED - and - SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION |
Dispute concerning the alleged breach of a procedural agreement.
Recommendation:
8. The Court is of the view that the Company are in breach of
the Union/Company agreement and accordingly upholds the Union's
position.
The Court, accepts that the new plant (the Cavan Road) is
producing a different product and accordingly it is reasonable to
expect that different conditions may be needed.
The Court accordingly recommends that both parties enter into
negotiations immediately with a view to either amending the
existing agreement or drawing up a new agreement to meet the
requirements in the Cavan Road Plant.
Division: Ms Owens Mr McHenry Mr Rorke
Text of Document__________________________________________________________________
CD90563 RECOMMENDATION NO. LCR13085
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1976
SECTION 67
PARTIES: BOXMORE PLASTICS LIMITED
(REPRESENTED BY THE FEDERATION OF IRISH EMPLOYERS)
AND
SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION
SUBJECT:
1. Dispute concerning the alleged breach of a procedural
agreement.
BACKGROUND:
2. The Company which was formerly Star Plastics manufactures
plastic containers mainly for soft drinks and milk. Its main
plant is located at Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan, where approximately
115 workers are employed.
3. In February, 1990 the Company opened a plant in an advance
I.D.A. factory on the Cavan Road approximately .50 mile from the
Ballyconnell plant. Its intention was to manufacture containers
for the pharmaceutical industry with emphasis on research and
development. There are four people employed there at present
who were recruited from the Ballyconnell plant. The Company
decided to draw up different terms and conditions of employment
for the Cavan Road plant because the work environment and its
requirements were different to those at the Ballyconnell plant.
4 The Union objected to the revised terms and conditions of
employment on the basis that they were in breach of the present
procedural Company/Union Agreement and that any changes which the
Company wished to introduce could be negotiated under this
agreement as had been the case in the past. The Union considers
that the Cavan Road plant is an extension of the present plant and
is not a separate entity.
5. The dispute was referred to the conciliation service of the
Labour Court on 14th February, 1990. A conciliation conference
was held on 22nd May, 1990. As no agreement was reached the
parties subsequently consented to a referral to the Labour Court
for investigation and recommendation. A Court hearing was held in
Cavan on 31st October, 1990.
UNION'S ARGUMENTS:
6. 1. The Company argued that the work being done in the new
Extension was new business which they would not have got if
they had to carry the punitive labour costs attached to the
parent plant. The Union does not accept this argument as the
Company appears to be doing very well according to reports
published in the business sections of the newspapers (details
supplied to the Court).
2. The Company has admitted that the new extension is part of
the parent plant. It is managed, administered and maintained
by the parent plant. Supervision is operated by regular
visits being made by shift superintendents who go there on a
once or twice per shift basis. The Company recruited the four
workers employed at the Extension from staff currently
employed at the parent plant. On recruitment the Company
unilaterally stopped deduction at source of Union
contributions and they were given documents to sign if they
wished to continue in Union membership. This action is in
clear breach of Clauses 2 and 33 of the Company/Union
Agreement (details supplied to the Court). It has also led to
discontent among the workforce as the four workers concerned
are not in the Union and are carrying out work proper to Union
members.
3. The present Agreement, which came into force in 1978, has
served both the Company and the Union well over the years.
Many major changes have been introduced, all of which have
been negotiated in accordance with the Agreement. The Union
considers that the present changes being sought by the Company
could also be negotiated under the Agreement.
COMPANY'S ARGUMENTS:
7. 1. The Company cannot make the Cavan Road plant a viable
operation unless it has flexibility. At present the level of
business given by pharmaceutical companies to the Cavan Road
factory can only support 4 employees. These employees must be
flexible across grades as well as within grades. The factory
is being run on an experimental basis manufacturing primarily
for the pharmaceutical market. In slack times some work is
carried out for the Ballyconnell Plant. If the required
conditions are not met as regards flexibility, hygiene and
cleanliness, then the pharmaceutical companies will not deal
with Boxmore.
2. It would not be viable to manufacture products for the
pharmaceutical industry in the Ballyconnell factory. The
production facilities existent in Ballyconnell were not
sufficient for the type of product required.
7. 3. The reason flexibility is needed across grades in the
Cavan Road Plant is that the Company needs to keep unit costs
as low as possible in order to compete in the marketplace.
The competition for this work comes mainly from the U.K.
France and Germany who have the advantage that they are closer
than Ireland to the main pharmaceutical plants in Europe.
4. The Company can assure the Union that the opening of the
Cavan Road plant is not an underhanded means of slowly moving
all production from Ballyconnell to Cavan Road. The Cavan
Road factory was set up to substitute imports and supply a
product that is different in nature and method of production
to the operation of Ballyconnell.
RECOMMENDATION:
8. The Court is of the view that the Company are in breach of
the Union/Company agreement and accordingly upholds the Union's
position.
The Court, accepts that the new plant (the Cavan Road) is
producing a different product and accordingly it is reasonable to
expect that different conditions may be needed.
The Court accordingly recommends that both parties enter into
negotiations immediately with a view to either amending the
existing agreement or drawing up a new agreement to meet the
requirements in the Cavan Road Plant.
~
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court,
Evelyn Owens
_22nd___November,___1990. ___________________
M. D. / M. F. Deputy Chairman