Labour Court recommends talks on BOC Gases overtime losses

The Labour Court recommended that Boc Gases Limited and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union agree the extent of six workers’ earnings losses in 1992/93 and compensate any loss identified. The recommendation was signed on 19 December 1995. The dispute followed a 1991 agreement on overtime, including a guarantee averaging 364 hours per worker. The union said six workers did not receive those hours in 1992/93. BOC Gases argued that its commitment to compensate losses applied to a comparison of earnings in 1990/91 and 1991/92, not the later period claimed. The Court found that clauses 3 and 4 of the agreement were ambiguous. It recommended that the parties account for absenteeism and unavailability for overtime when assessing the loss. It also recommended they agree terms on overtime availability and distribution, with the Court prepared to make a definitive recommendation if they could not reach agreement.