The Labour Court ruled it had no jurisdiction to investigate six fixed-term work complaints against the Railway Procurement Agency, finding the workers had become permanent employees by 2004. The determination was signed on 15 June 2009.
Allan Bell, Vincent Carroll, David Corri, Michael Healy, Colin Larkin and Dualta Murphy sought the same pay and employment conditions as comparable permanent staff, including pension benefits. The agency argued they were no longer fixed-term employees and that their claims were out of time. It also objected that only Corri had properly appealed, but the Court found all six appeals were properly before it.
The Court found the workers’ original contracts covered building the two Luas lines approved when they were hired. Those contracts ended when the lines were completed in 2004, after which the workers continued as permanent employees. Because they were not fixed-term employees during the six months before referring their complaints, the Court had no jurisdiction to investigate them; the merits were not decided.