Labour Court recommends split payment after Cadbury electricians’ stoppage

The Labour Court recommended that Cadbury Ireland P.L.C. pay half the time lost in a two-day stoppage by 37 electricians and count the other half towards their attendance-bonus calculation. The recommendation was signed on 4 December 1989. The dispute arose after electricians stopped work over a German equipment supplier’s worker doing work on new equipment. The Electrical Trades Union said company electricians should do the manual work while overseas personnel advised. Cadbury argued the agreed procedure could have avoided industrial action and that stoppage time was not normally paid. The Court said both sides were at fault: the union refused to use the agreed procedure, while the company introduced the disputed practice before giving notice that it would use that procedure.