Labour Court declines to recommend Irish Fertilizer overtime claim

In 1988, the Labour Court did not recommend conceding the Irish Transport And General Workers' Union's claim for an annual overtime payment for 106 operators at Irish Fertilizer Industries' Arklow plant. The recommendation was signed on 14 December 1988. The union sought the payment received by operators at the company's Cork plant, arguing that there was no justifiable reason for different arrangements and that an agreement aimed to eliminate differences between sites. Irish Fertilizer Industries said it had incorporated part of Cork's overtime allowance into Arklow base pay and that agreements barred the claim. The Court considered the company's policy for phasing out the Cork anomaly reasonable and recommended continuing it.