Labour Court upholds fisheries board’s seven-day suspension of officer

In 1989, the Labour Court upheld the North Western Regional Fisheries Board’s decision to suspend a fishery officer without pay for seven days, rejecting the recommendation to replace the suspension with a verbal warning. The decision was signed on 9 March 1989. The Board had appealed the Rights Commissioner’s recommendation on behalf of the anonymised Officer A, who was suspended after three alleged failures in duties concerning poaching incidents. The Irish Transport & General Workers' Union represented the worker. The Court found the Rights Commissioner had underestimated the extent of the officer’s failure to attempt to apprehend alleged poachers, particularly in light of previous incidents, and said the Board’s suspension should stand.