FULL RECOMMENDATION
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1990 SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : SCOTTS BAKERY (REPRESENTED BY IRISH BUSINESS AND EMPLOYERS' CONFEDERATION) - AND - SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION DIVISION : Chairman: Mr Duffy Employer Member: Mr McHenry Worker Member: Mr. Somers |
1. Re-hearing arising from LCR16407
BACKGROUND:
2. The dispute concerns redundancy terms for a number of workers who are seeking 4 weeks' pay per year of service. The parties had previously been before the Court in January, 2000, and full details of the dispute are contained in LCR16407 which issued on the 17th of January, 2000. In it, the Court recommended that the parties should meet again when full details of the Company's financial position were available. The Union was given leave to refer the case back to the Court, and a second hearing took place on the 4th of July, 2000, in Carrick-on-Shannon.
UNION'S ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. From accounts made available to the Union, the Company was making a profit up to 1996, but there are no audited accounts available from that year onwards. The Company claims that it sustained losses in the years 1998/1999 but this cannot be verified. Members employed in the shops in a management position are adamant that there was no great drop in sales in this period.
2. The displaced workers, many of whom involved themselves in years of training to acquire the necessary skills for the industry, now find that they are unable to utilise these skills as opportunities in the area are limited.
COMPANY'S ARGUMENTS:
4. 1. The Company sold all of its shops on the 8th of April, 2000 (details supplied to the Court). Only 2 of the leases raised money (a total of £17,000). The Company still owes a large sum of money. It is not in a position to pay anything other than statutory redundancy.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Court believes that this dispute cannot be satisfactorily resolved until the final financial position of the Company becomes known. This will have to await the sale of the Company's bakery premises.
The Court recommends that when the sale of this premises is finalised, the parties should meet within 4 weeks to review the situation. At that point, the Union should be forwarded with all of the financial information which it requires to adequately assess the Company's capacity to pay enhanced redundancy terms.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Kevin Duffy
31st July, 2000______________________
conDeputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Ciaran O'Neill, Court Secretary.