The Labour Court recommended that the Office Of Public Works immediately re-employ 180 drainage construction workers it had laid off, pending a central review committee decision. The recommendation was signed on 25 October 1988. The Irish Transport And General Workers' Union argued the lay-offs breached the Programme for National Recovery; the Office Of Public Works said it had consulted and could not maintain full-time work without more government funding.
The Court said the lay-offs were probably in breach of the agreement and recommended re-employment while the committee reached a definitive view. The workers had been laid off on 17 October.