In 1997, the Labour Court upheld the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union’s appeal and recommended that Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council pay an unnamed depot assistant 24 hours’ overtime. The decision was signed on 10 October 1997.
The claim followed a five-day picket at Ballyogan that blocked refuse trucks from reaching the tiphead. Bin-collection employees received 45 hours’ overtime to clear the backlog. The union said the depot assistant was part of the team and had received similar payments in unusual circumstances. The Council said he had already received the usual 10 hours and that his clerical duties did not justify further overtime.
The Court found that the worker had been treated as part of the group because he was paid at the bin-driver rate and received the same productivity half-hour payment. It recommended payment of the 24 hours claimed and said the Council should negotiate any change for the future.