Labour Court says Field Boxmore cannot pay Sustaining Progress terms

The Labour Court decided that Field Boxmore Dublin Ltd could not pay the terms of Sustaining Progress II, after considering the company’s financial position and an independent assessor’s report. The decision was dated 15 December 2005. The dispute concerned the company’s non-payment of Phase 2 of the pay agreement. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union said the company had twice agreed to pay the phase and then reneged. Field Boxmore cited operating losses, pressure on costs and difficult conditions in the printing and packaging sector. The Court said the agreement required the employer to substantiate its inability-to-pay plea and gave serious weight to the assessor’s report. The parties had agreed to be bound by the Court’s decision.