Labour Court backs higher Guinness relief pay, rejects promotion formula change

In 1988, the Labour Court recommended that Arthur Guinness Son & Company (Dublin) Limited increase relief pay for craftsmen covering supervisory roles. It did not recommend changing the company’s promotion pay formula. The recommendation was signed on 11 July 1988. The Guinness Skilled Group Of Unions brought the claims for about 200 craftsmen. It argued that the relief rate did not reflect the added responsibility of covering a supervisor and that promoted craftsmen should retain the agreed pay differential. The company said its promotion formula followed an incremental scale and changes could affect other grades. The Court recommended that the company concede the claim for increased relief pay. It found no justification for recommending concession of the claim to alter the promotion formula.