Labour Court finds statutory preconditions met in Quinn Cement trade dispute

The Labour Court found that the statutory preconditions were met to investigate a trade dispute between Quinn Cement and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union (SIPTU). The decision was dated 3 March 2005. The dispute covered proposed bonus-scheme changes, pay and conditions, sick pay, tax issues arising from relocation and overtime rates. Quinn Cement said it consulted employees and had grievance procedures; SIPTU said there was no independent collective bargaining structure or joint process for resolving collective disputes. The Court found supervisor consultations were not collective bargaining on an equal basis, and that the company’s procedures dealt with individual grievances rather than disputes jointly raised by the parties. It said it would proceed to investigate the substantive case.