Labour Court recommends acceptance of Hanson Industries’ pay offer

The Labour Court recommended that the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union accept Hanson Industries’ offer on the final phase of the Programme for Competitiveness and Work. The offer included pay increases of 2.5% from 1 July 1996 and a further 1% from 1 January 1997, alongside other terms. The recommendation, dated 21 October 1996, followed a dispute over the union’s claim to implement the final pay phase. The union said the company should honour its commitments without seeking further concessions. Hanson Industries cited losses, higher raw-material costs, falling product prices and uncertainty over the company’s sale. The Court also recommended that union members cooperate with new Press Room targets and that the union and management review how they were working after three months.