Labour Court recommends conciliation approach in Cadbury Ireland sick-leave payment dispute

The Labour Court recommended accepting a conciliation proposal in a dispute over payments to Cadbury Ireland Ltd employees on long-term sick leave. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union and Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union sought payment for all long-term absentees, including those without private health insurance. The company said the 1985 agreement was silent on long-term absence and that payments had been limited to employees at work, then extended in 1992 to employees incurring health-insurance costs. The Court accepted that account of the practice and dated its recommendation 4 September 2002.