Labour Court recommends talks on pay and conditions at Mowlam Health Care

The Labour Court recommended that Mowlam Health Care Limited and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union resume intensive negotiations on seven workplace issues, with help from the Labour Relations Commission, for no more than eight weeks. The Court recommended that the company indicate willingness to apply the Sustaining Progress pay agreement from 1 June 2003, provide financial information confidentially and conclude a procedural agreement. Unresolved matters could return to the Court for a definitive recommendation. The union said negotiations had been difficult, while the company cited competition, reduced funding and labour costs amounting to 65–70% of income. The recommendation was signed on 12 July 2004.