Labour Court recommends first call on jobs for Value Homes worker if direct hiring resumes

In 2005, the Labour Court recommended that a worker represented by the Building and Allied Trades Union have first call on job opportunities at Value Homes Ltd if the company resumes employing direct labour. The recommendation, signed on 15 August 2005, followed a dispute over a commitment to re-employ former staff when work became available. The union said Value Homes had broken its commitment to re-employ members. The company said the commitment related to its former structure and that it now completed projects through subcontractors. The Court accepted that a commitment had been made in good faith in 2003, but noted that the company then used no direct employees. It recommended priority for the worker and his colleagues if the company became able to hire direct labour again.