Labour Court declines union claim over pension contributions

The Labour Court has declined a claim by the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union on behalf of nine Smurfit Corrugated Cases workers to stop them paying an additional 3% contribution after moving to the staff pension scheme. The recommendation, signed on 13 February 1998, followed a dispute over the workers’ transfer from the non-contributory works scheme to the staff scheme, which had a higher level of benefits. The union said workers had been told the company would pay pension contributions and pointed to promoted colleagues who transferred without cost. Smurfit Corrugated Cases said the workers knew management had refused to cover the extra cost and argued that different pension benefits reflected different roles. The Court did not recommend conceding the claim.