Labour Court rejects fitters’ claim for £86 weekly bonus at Wiggins Teape

In 1993, the Labour Court recommended against the Technical Engineering And Electrical Union’s claim for Wiggins Teape Ireland Limited fitters to receive the £86 weekly bonus paid to foremen and chargehands. The recommendation was dated 2 February 1993. The union argued that fitters and chargehands did the same duties and that restructuring increased the fitters’ workload and made bonus targets harder to reach. The company said the chargehands’ bonus was fixed, while the fitters’ bonus varied and included a guaranteed fallback rate. The Court considered how the scheme had been introduced and operated, and found no basis to recommend the union’s claim.