Labour Court declines forklift drivers’ pay increase claim at Beamish & Crawford

The Labour Court did not recommend a pay increase for Beamish & Crawford forklift drivers, whose claim followed a rise in bottling-line output and changes to work practices. The recommendation was dated 1 October 2004. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union argued that the bottling-line upgrade increased the drivers’ workload. The company said it had increased the number of drivers servicing the line and their work had not changed. The Court said a pay claim could be considered only if the drivers’ productivity increase matched that of bottling operators, and the joint study had not demonstrated this.