In 1998, the Labour Court recommended that Roche Ireland Limited give nine workers facing compulsory redundancy the same special terms offered to voluntary redundancies, plus £4,000 each. Its recommendation was dated 9 March 1998.
The dispute followed the closure of Roche’s Naproxen operation at its Clarecastle plant, which affected 47 workers. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union argued that compulsory redundancies might be unnecessary and that the nine workers were not the least senior. Roche said the redundancies were unavoidable after the production closure and that it had redeployed as many workers as possible.
The Court found a redundancy situation and said the company had tried to limit its effects through voluntary redundancy and redeployment. It also found the nine remaining workers were not the last to be employed in the Naproxen plant. The Court recommended that they accept redundancy, receive the same special terms as the voluntary redundancies, and get first consideration for suitable future vacancies if still available.