Labour Court urges Lisadell Towels and union to negotiate savings and phased pay

The Labour Court recommended that Lisadell Towels Ltd and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union use the company’s Appendix 11 and 11(a) proposals as a reasonable basis for negotiating savings, with the phasing in of the Programme for Competitiveness and Work included in those talks. The recommendation was signed on 30 May 1995. Lisadell Towels, which made towels mainly for the hotel trade and employed about 150 workers in Carrickmacross, said it needed £250,000 in savings to remain viable. It had previously sought a 10% pay cut. The union sought immediate payment of the first two P.C.W. phases and opposed wage cuts and changes to employment conditions. The Court said urgent action was needed for the company to return to viability. In an earlier recommendation, it had postponed P.C.W. payment and called for urgent negotiations on savings; Lisadell Towels accepted that recommendation, while the union rejected it.