Labour Court rejects union appeal over Atlas Aluminium warnings

In 1998, the Labour Court rejected the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union’s appeal to rescind first written warnings issued to two workers at Atlas Aluminium Limited. The warnings followed an incident in which a forklift operator poured molten aluminium while a foundry operative stood in an unsafe position. The union challenged the company’s safety practices and disciplinary process; the company said the workers had breached safety rules and the incident could have caused serious injuries. Dated 6 October 1998, the Court upheld the Rights Commissioner’s recommendation that the warnings remain and that the company improve its safety procedures.