Labour Court permits Cork Gas Company to use contractors with job protections

In 1989, the Labour Court recommended that Cork Gas Company could use outside contractors after prior consultation with the Irish Transport And General Workers' Union. The recommendation was signed on 22 September 1989. The Court said the company's employees should be fully utilised and that contractor use must not reduce employment. The union had argued that the use of contractors should remain governed by an existing agreement, warning that jobs could be lost. The company sought unrestricted contracting to support expansion and competitiveness.