Labour Court upholds recommendation in Independent Newspapers promotion appeal

In 1999, the Labour Court upheld a Rights Commissioner’s recommendation and disallowed the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union’s appeal over a promotion dispute at Independent Newspapers. The Court said the worker had been left in an acting post for an inordinate time, creating an understandable expectation of appointment, but that the company had to fill promotional posts through an open and competitive process. The union argued that a worker with more than 30 years’ service should have been appointed to a supervisory post after covering the role. Independent Newspapers said the successful candidate had been appointed on merit through the agreed process. The Court’s decision was signed on 12 October 1999.