Labour Court recommends seniority be considered in Bausch & Lomb lay-offs

The Labour Court recommended that Bausch & Lomb Ireland consider seniority when selecting temporary employees for future lay-offs, where all things are equal. Its recommendation, dated 3 June 1999, made this subject to the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union agreeing restrictions to address the company's financial and operational concerns. The dispute followed a downturn in demand and the end of weekend production in Process I, which led to temporary workers being laid off. The union said the company had agreed to use seniority when workers had equal skills; the Court found conflicting evidence about how the agreement was meant to apply and said management's change of position had worsened the dispute.