Labour Court urges new severance talks in Irish Life dispute

In 2001, the Labour Court recommended that Irish Life and Manufacturing, Science, Finance make one further attempt to negotiate new severance terms for six sales managers, with any package first offered voluntarily and without an agency tie-in. The company warned that a departing manager could compete against it, while the union said voluntary options and alternatives to job losses had not been fully explored. The Court found the wording of a 1997 letter ambiguous and said it could not determine what was agreed about future redundancies. Its recommendation was signed on 23 May 2001; the dispute could return to the Court if the parties did not agree within one month.