Labour Court rejects three unions' claim to retain travel-time payments

The Labour Court did not recommend conceding a claim by the Irish Municipal Employees' Trade Union, Federated Workers' Union of Ireland and Irish Transport and General Workers' Union over travel-time payments for 16 workers transferred from Kilbarrack to Coolock. The move reduced their daily allowance by half an hour, worth about £10 a week. The recommendation was signed on 30 November 1989. The unions argued the transfer reduced workers' pay. Dublin Corporation said the scheme allowed redeployment and linked payment to the workplace's distance from the G.P.O. The Court viewed travel-time payments as compensation for mobility and said a return to the former calculation base was not sustainable.