LCR23086

PARTIES:

DIVISION:

SUBJECT:

New Pay Deal

BACKGROUND:

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 31st May 2024 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990.

A Labour Court hearing took place on 5th November 2024

UNION'S ARGUMENTS:

1. The Union says its members want certainty of pay and not to be gambling on KPIs that they would have no control over.
2. The Union argues that the Company is in good financial order and can afford the pay increases.  It also says that the workers and management have always had a good working relationship and despite the lack of meaningful engagement on this current pay dispute the members would wish for this good relationship to continue into the future.

EMPLOYER'S ARGUMENTS:

1. The Company has successfully refinanced its debt however it says that it is in an extremely sensitive and precarious situation in relation to its finances.
2. In the period April to September 2024 production fell by 8% primarily due to production failure on manufactured batches. As a result, customers are being lost to competitors.

RECOMMENDATION:

The dispute before the Court relates to a new pay deal to replace the pay deal that expired on the 31st March 2023.  The Union put forward a claim for an increase of 10 % over two years. The Employer proposed a pay increase of 6% over the same period of time. At the conclusion of conciliation under the auspices of the WRC the Unions position did not change as they believed the Employers latest proposal as set out below was in effect a lower offer than had been previously tabled. The Employer put forward an amended proposal of

3% on first April 2023

1% on first April 2024

3% on first April 2025

 With an additional 2% subject to two KPI’s being achieved. If the KPI’s were achieved the 2% would be paid April 2025 and backdated to 1st January 2024.

This proposal was rejected by the Union as KPI’s had never been discussed. The Union stated there is already an existing productivity bonus on site with applicable variable KPI’s and the bonus had never been maximised or achieved by its members. They also pointed out that having reviewed the Company accounts, turnover and sales have increased and that should be reflected in the pay increases for the Workers.

The Employer submitted that the company had been experiencing difficulties and in the period April to September 2024 gross profit had dropped when compared with the same time period for 2023. The Company is in an extremely sensitive situation financially and has to factor that in to any pay increases.

 The Court having carefully considered the submissions both written and oral from the parties recommends the following increases.

From 1st April 2023      4.%

From 1st April 2024       4.%

With the agreement to expire on the 31st March 2025.

The Court so recommends.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Louise O'Donnell
CC	______________________
6th December 2024	Deputy Chairman

NOTE

Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Ceola Cronin, Court Secretary.