Labour Court recommends pension talks and later holiday-pay discussion at Great Southern Hotels

In 1993, the Labour Court recommended that Great Southern Hotels and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union negotiate pension access for regular seasonal staff. The recommendation was dated 23 December 1993. The union sought pension access and triple-time for staff working Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day. Great Southern Hotels cited the cost of pension inclusion and argued that higher holiday pay could threaten Christmas trading. The Court recommended that the parties negotiate pension inclusion, considering the costs and the group’s capacity to absorb them. It said the holiday-pay claim had some merit but was barred under the Programme for Economic and Social Progress, and recommended further discussion after it expired in October 1994, with a view to arrangements for Christmas 1994.