LCR22699

1.Pay Claim And Associated Issues In Dispute

BACKGROUND:

2.This dispute could not be resolved at local level and was the subject of a number of Conciliation Conferences under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission. As agreement was not reached, the dispute was referred to the Labour Court on 8 July 2022 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. A Labour Court hearing took place on 8 December 2022.


UNION’S ARGUMENTS:

3. 1. The Union is seeking an increase of an additional 1% over and above the 5% increase paid by the company in 2022, along with a 1.5% increase in the hourly rate of pay for 2020 and 2021.

2. The Union is seeking to have paid breaks for the Ramp IC Grade workers in order to be aligned with their counterparts in the Cargo section.

EMPLOYER'S ARGUMENTS:

1. The Employer contends that the implementation of pay increases in 2022 of 5% along with recognition payments and a business recovery & recognition bonus are both fair and reasonable, considering the ongoing commercial pressure on the aviation industry.

2. The Employerdisputes that any IC Grade workers in any section are in receipt of paid breaks.

RECOMMENDATION:

The issue in dispute between the parties arises from the Unions claim for a pay increase on the basic rate of pay for its members as follows.

Increase on basic pay of 1.5% for the period 1^stJanuary 2020 to 31^stDecember 2020

Increase on basic pay of 1.5% for the period 1^stJanuary 2021 to 31^stDecember 2021

Increase on basic pay of 6% for the period 1^stJanuary 2022 to 31^stDecember 2022,

€1,000 recognition and retention bonus for staff employed prior to 1/1/2020 and still in employment on the 31/10/2022.

The Union also requested paid breaks for Ramp staff in line with their colleagues in the Cargo section.

Summary of Union submission

Local discussions on the Union’s pay claim took place in December 2021, January 2022 and February 2022 but agreement could not be reached. The issues were referred to conciliation and two conciliation conferences took place on the 28^thMarch and 19^thApril 2022 respectively. However, agreement could not be reached, and it was agreed to jointly refer the issues to the Labour Court.

The Union submitted that their members have not had a percentage increase in basic pay since 2017. In 2018 the Union had sought am increase and the Employer had tabled a Pay Simplification model and linked any potential pay increase to that model. However, negotiations were still ongoing when Covid happened, and the negotiations around the Pay Simplification model never concluded. Similar workers in the UK, to the workers covered by this claim, received pay increases in 2018 and 2019 and in terms of the years covered by the current claim they received a 2.4% increase in 2020 and 2021 and a 6% increase in 2022.

The Employer In the intervening period between the ending of Conciliation and the hearing before the Labour Court implemented their final offer at conciliation despite the fact that this offer had been rejected by the Union. This included payment of a 5% increase for 2022, 1.5% lumpsum for the years 2020 and 2021 and what they are describing a s a Business Recovery bonus of €1,000. The payments for 2020 and 2021 were in a lumpsum format and not on the base rate and were only in respect of hours worked during those years. The Union noted that most staff members were on layoff for considerable period during 2020 and 2021 which impacted on what payment if any they received in respect of those two years.

The Union submitted that these payments were made as the Employer is having trouble retaining staff. The Union is seeking for the increases for the three years in question to be applied to the base rates. In respect of the Unions claim for paid breaks for IC staff working on the ramps, the Employer has previously stated that no Ramp or Cargo IC grade workers receive paid breaks. However. It has come to light in the last few months that IC grade employees in the Cargo section are in receipt of paid breaks. The Union are now seeking the same for other Ramp staff.

Summary of Employer’s submission

IBEC on behalf of the Employer submitted thatby letter of the 4^thJanuary 2022 they made an offer of 1.5% lumpsum payment for 2020 and 2021 based on actual hours worked and a 4% increase to basic pay for 2022. They also offered a €500 Business Recovery Bonus. At a further meeting with the Unions, they increased the proposed Business Recovery Bonus to €1,000 and increased the proposal in respect of pay to 4.5%.

The Employer noted that the Union had not moved at all from its original claim despite the fact that the Employer had increased its proposal. At Conciliation the Employer put forward the following proposal as its final position.

1.5% lumpsum for 2020 based on hours worked

1.5% lumpsum for 2021 based on hours worked

5% on basic payrate for 2022 backdated to 1/1/22 and

Business Recovery bonus of €1,000 (FTE) to be paid in a tax efficient manner to all staff who joined prior to 1^stJanuary 2020 and remain employed on 31^stOctober 2022.

As no agreement could be reached the claim was jointly referred to the Labour Court. The Employer at that stage without prejudice to what the Court might decide and in order to alleviate the financial hardship of its employees decided to implement its final proposal and made the pay awards contained in same.

The Employer submitted that UK employees had signed up to the Pay Simplification model and their pay awards reflected same. The proposal currently before the Court did not contain any quid pro quo and was a straightforward pay increase. The Employer was open to engaging with the Unions in 2023 in respect of the Pay Simplification model.

The Employer submitted that they had gone as far as they could go in respect of the current pay claim and any increase to their proposal, could have implications in respect of other pay issues. In terms of the paid tea breaks the Employer was not aware that any IC staff received paid tea beaks but is prepared to meet with the Union in respect of this issue.

Discussion.

The Court notes that the Employer is open to engaging with the Unions in respect of the Pay Simplification model in 2023. Having considered all the issues raised by both parties and noting that the claim before the Court is a straight pay claim not linked to deliverables, the Court recommends the following:

That the parties engage in respect of the issue of paid tea breaks for IC staff working on the ramps in circumstances where the Union are aware of some IC staff receiving payment for same.

The Court is not recommending any increase in respect of the 5% increase already made for the calendar year 2022.

In respect of the calendar year 2020 the Court recommends that in addition to the 1.5% lumpsum already paid to most staff, a lumpsum payment of 1% or €300 euro whichever is the greater be paid to all staff covered by this claim.

In respect of the calendar year 2021 the Court recommends that in addition to the 1.5% lumpsum already paid to most staff, a lumpsum payment of 1% or €300 euro whichever is the greater be paid to all staff covered by this claim

The Court so recommends

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Louise O'Donnell
DC	______________________
22 December 2022	Deputy Chairman