Labour Court recommends pay and conditions moratorium at Byrne-Mech Engineering

The Labour Court recommended that a moratorium on pay increases and employment conditions at Byrne-Mech Engineering Limited continue into 1996. It said the company and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union should meet in February 1996 to discuss national pay movements and restoring former conditions. The recommendation was signed on 8 June 1995. The company, based in Athenry, employed about 60 hourly-paid workers, up to 32 of whom were involved in the dispute. The union sought a return to the pay rates and conditions that applied before November 1993. The company said it could not meet the demands and reported losses exceeding £100,000 between July 1993 and March 1994. The Court said the revised pay structure was not unreasonable given the company’s changed market, while recognising its severe effects on workers. It said the union could reopen the pay-increase question if former customers returned.