Labour Court rejects unions’ claim for larger coal allowance at Irish Cement

In 1987, the Labour Court did not recommend conceding the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers’ Union and Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union claim against Irish Cement Limited for a larger coal allowance. The recommendation was signed on 13 July 1987. The unions sought to preserve a 16% allowance and divide it among three process operators after staffing fell from four operators per shift to three. Irish Cement said the payment formed part of a wider industrial relations settlement and that staffing changes did not justify increasing it. The Court said the allowance had emerged from a broader resolution of industrial relations problems, noting that other shift staff received the same payment regardless of their work with coal. It concluded that changes in staffing did not warrant changing the allowance.