Labour Court recommends pay increases and cost talks at Trend Technologies

The Labour Court recommended that Trend Technologies and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union negotiate cost-saving measures while introducing pay increases under Sustaining Progress. The recommendation was signed on 12 November 2004. Trend sought changes to offset costs before paying the increases, citing difficult trading conditions. The union sought the increases without those conditions. The Court recommended a Joint Steering Group with an independent chair to identify cost-saving measures. It also recommended the combined 7% increase from 1 September 2004, phased retrospective increases, and making the final six months’ retrospection conditional on the group completing its work.