ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00013902

	Complainant	Respondent
Anonymised Parties	Storeman	Printing & Distribution Company

Dispute:

Act	Complaint/Dispute Reference No.	Date of Receipt
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969	CA-00018286-001	04/04/2018

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 31st July 2018

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Gaye Cunningham

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969following the referral of the dispute to me by the Director General, I inquired into the dispute and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the dispute.

Background:

The dispute concerns the complainant’s attempts to have a salary increase which will bring him in line with his colleagues.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

The Complainant is a Storeman earning around €23,000 per annum. He contends that his earnings are well below that of similar employees and he seeks the same pay level as colleagues who perform similar work. Nationally, the average pay of a Storemen is €27,585. The Union has tried to resolve this dispute but no agreement was reached.

Summary of Respondent’s Case:

The issue between the Complainant and the Company is that the Complainant seeks a pay rise that would bring him in line with a colleague who he contends is filling a similar role. That colleague is paid in excess of €30,000 and the Complainant is currently paid €23,000. There are a number of significant differences between the two positions and the Company cannot accede to the Complainant’s request. The Company has engaged with the Union to try and resolve this dispute. Exchanges were made in February, March and May 2018. On 22nd May 2018, a tentative agreement on an enhanced proposal was made. However, the employee rejected the offer and the matter was referred to the WRC.

Recommendation:

I note the many efforts on both sides to come to an agreement on this dispute. There was the bones of a tentative agreement on 22nd May 2018 but this did not materialise. I note that the Complainant for his part has no objection to a Job Spec being drawn up. In those circumstances, I recommend that the Company revises its offer upwards by €2,000 per annum and otherwise, the remainder of the May 22nd offer be agreed.

Dated: 19.09.2018

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Gaye Cunningham