The Labour Court recommended a restructuring package for Foynes Port Stevedores and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union, including a €9,500 lead-in payment for cooperation with new work practices. The recommendation was signed on 14 December 2004. The payment was to be made in two phases: €5,500 on acceptance of the productivity report and €4,000 four months after its implementation.
The Court recommended offering redundancy to 15 dockers on twice their average annual salary for 2001 to 2003, plus statutory redundancy, with no cap. It also recommended implementing the report’s manning levels, with a review after one year, and accepting the stevedores’ offer to extend retirement to 67 for existing dockers aged 58 and over on a red-circled basis. The recommended items were to be considered as a package.
The stevedores had offered voluntary redundancy to 12 dockers, with terms capped at €65,000, and a €7,000 lead-in payment. The union sought 15 redundancies, uncapped terms, and a €12,000 lead-in payment. It also sought higher hourly pay, while the Court recommended that the pay claim be examined after a one-year review of manning levels.