Labour Court recommends workers accept revised sick-pay scheme

In 1988, the Labour Court recommended that workers at Michael Byrne & Sons Limited accept the amended sick-pay scheme. The recommendation was signed on 14 July 1988, following a dispute with the Irish Transport And General Workers' Union over the company's revision of the scheme. The company said the cost of the original scheme and worker absenteeism threatened its survival plan. The union argued the changes penalised all workers for the actions of a few and breached the company-union agreement. The amended scheme retained up to two weeks' full pay and 10 weeks' half pay, with benefits calculated using individual net basic pay and Social Welfare payments.