LCR22576

1.Bonus Payment For Yard And Stores General Operatives

BACKGROUND:

2.This dispute could not be resolved at local level and was the subject 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 15 February 2022 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. A Labour Court hearing took place on 12 April 2022.

UNION’S ARGUMENTS:

3. 1. The group of workers receive a bonus of 12% while other groups of workers receive bonus payments to a value of between 27% and 35%

2. The workers have taken on additional work, which should be recognised with an increase in the bonus paid to them

3. The union is seeking a bonus of 27% in recognition of this

EMPLOYER'S ARGUMENTS:

4. 1. The bonus payment is being consolidated into transferred to basic pay by 2023 as agreed under the 2019 Recovery Plan Agreement

2. There is no justification for any increase in the value of the bonus paid to the workers

3. Any change to the value of a bonus paid to these workers would have the potential to have implications for the bonus payment structure as it applies to other workers in receipt of bonus payments

RECOMMENDATION:

The Court has considered carefully the written and oral submissions of the parties.

Bonus is paid to a range of workers in the employment. An agreement between the parties in 2019 is in the course of being implemented. That agreement will result in the consolidation of bonus payments into the basic pay of a range of workers by 2023. The agreement also provides that no cost increasing claims would be served on the employer before 2023 and that a pay freeze would apply until that date. Provision was made however for the within claim to be dealt with through agreed procedures.

The Claimants in the case before the Court receive bonus of 12%. Other groups of workers have a bonus payment of 27% in the case of Kit Marshalls and Fitters, 33% in the case of electricians and 35% in the case of all production workers.

The Trade Union provided the Court with a range of correspondence which demonstrated that on a number of occasions at intervals since 2001 the workers before the Court had sought an increase to the agreed bonus level of 12%. It is common case that on each occasion where such a claim was made the employer rejected the claim. The claim before the Court is that the bonus value increase from 12% to 27%. The Trade Union contends that such an increase was applied to the bonus value of another group of workers in 2008.

The Trade Union has contended that the workers concerned have taken on additional work over the years since bonus was agreed as 12% and contend that this evolution in the role should be recognised by way of an increase in bonus value. The employer contends that no significant evolution in the role has occurred and that any change which has occurred is in the nature of normal ongoing change. The employer contrasts this with what it says was an evolution in the role of another group of workers which resulted, by agreement, in an increase in bonus value to that group of workers in 2008.

Having considered the entirety of the submissions of the parties the Court can find no basis for a recommendation that an increase in the amount of 15% of basic should be applied to the bonus value of the workers before the Court.

Consequently, the Court does not recommend concession of the claim.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Kevin Foley
OC	______________________
25 April 2022	Chairman