Labour Court recommends talks on 39-hour week at Ballinamore Textiles

In 1990, the Labour Court recommended further discussions on a 39-hour week for 160 general factory workers at Ballinamore Textiles Limited. The recommendation was signed on 18 June 1990. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union Branch) said the workers still attended for 40 hours a week despite paid tea breaks; the company calculated their week at 38¾ hours. The Court did not accept that adjusting standard minutes for the paid breaks reduced attendance time by 1¼ hours. It recommended talks aimed at implementing the reduction under the Framework Agreement on Hours of Work. The company argued that its calculations included an additional 2.6% allowance beyond existing breaks.