FULL RECOMMENDATION
SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : LEO PHARMA (REPRESENTED BY IRISH BUSINESS AND EMPLOYERS' CONFEDERATION) - AND - UNITE THE UNION DIVISION : Chairman: Mr Haugh Employer Member: Ms Doyle Worker Member: Ms Treacy |
1. 24/5 Crew Operations.
BACKGROUND:
2. This dispute could not be resolved at local level and was the subject of a conciliation conference under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission. As agreement was not reached, the dispute was referred to the Labour Court on 29 March 2018 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. A Labour Court hearing took place on 9 May 2018.
UNION’S ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. The members have no intention or appetite to concede 24/5 shift cover that includes a week of night working every third week.
2. The members cover all current shift requirements and have never failed in that respect.
3. Management have consistently spoken about the business needs case regarding their claimed requirement for 24/5 working, but they have not furnished the Union with a business case.
EMPLOYER'S ARGUMENTS:
4. 1. The Company is manning 24/5 shift operations on a voluntary basis for the past three years during which time the issue has been discussed at exhaustive length with UNITE.
2. The contents of the 24/5 document is the same as that accepted by SIPTU and is based on the recommendations of the Labour Court in 2014.
3. It is vital that this process is implemented to help the Company improve its competitiveness and secure its future.
RECOMMENDATION:
In LCR20889, dated 28 November 2014, a previous Division of the Court recommended the introduction of three-cycle, 24/5 cover on a mandatory basis for production operators employed by LEO Pharma (‘the Company’) at its facility in Crumlin with effect from 1 January 2015. The Court further recommended that a review of the new system should take place after six months of operation and that the workers concerned should each receive a once-off lump sum payment of €1,000.00. In June 2015, the Company signed a comprehensive agreement with SIPTU in respect of the operation of 24/5 shift cycles by production operators.
From early March 2015, the Company has engaged with UNITE the Union with a view to agreeing the introduction of the same mandatory 24/5 shift cycles for craft workers. To date, craft workers have been facilitating the Company by providing the necessary cover on a voluntary basis. The Company submits that its changing business needs and the imperative for it to remain competitive dictate that such voluntary arrangements for the provision of cover by craft workers on a 24/5 basis are no longer sufficient and it needs to be able to roster those workers on a mandatory basis in tandem with the shift arrangements in place for production workers. The Union submits that the Company has not shared the business case in support of its request in this regard with it and, therefore, the Union is not in a position to engage with the Company or propose alternative shift cover options. It further submits that twenty-six of its forty-one members do not have a contractual obligation to work night shifts.
Recommendation
Having considered the Parties’ written and oral submissions on the matter, the Court recommends that the Company’s proposal to roster craft workers on a three-cycle 24/5 basis should be implemented with effect from 1 September 2018. The operation of the new rosters should be reviewed after a period of six months to address any issues that may arise in that period. Finally, the Court also recommends that on acceptance of this Recommendation a once-off lump sum payment of €1,000.00 per craft worker should be paid by the Company.
The Court so recommends.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Alan Haugh
21 May 2018______________________
MNDeputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Michael Neville, Court Secretary.