Labour Court disallows worker’s appeal over higher pay from Covidien

The Labour Court disallowed a worker’s appeal over retrospective higher pay from Covidien and affirmed the Rights Commissioner’s recommendation. The decision was signed on 26 August 2015. The worker, a Setter represented by the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union, sought the higher M2 rate linked to an NVQ qualification. The union said management ended the training programme before the worker completed it. Covidien said the programme had been available for years and the worker had not qualified. The Court found successful completion of the programme was a condition of the higher rate, with no exceptions. It also noted that retrospective payment had not been raised during discussions leading to a June 2013 agreement.