Labour Court rejects goodwill payment claim for 420 Donegal workers

The Labour Court recommended that Abbott Ireland should not concede a goodwill payment claim brought by the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union and the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union for 420 workers at the former Abbott Ireland plant in Donegal Town. The recommendation was signed on 2 August 2005. The unions argued that the workers’ long service and contribution to the company’s success, along with their cooperation with the transfer of the business to Hospira Limited, warranted a financial reward. Abbott Ireland said the change was a restructuring rather than a sale and that employees’ terms and conditions had transferred to the new company. The Court considered it a restructuring and noted that the staff conditions had carried over.