Labour Court rejects OPW foremen’s craft tool allowance claim

The Labour Court rejected a claim by the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union for a craft tool allowance for 18 Office/Stores Foremen employed by the Office of Public Works and Department of Finance. The union argued that a £200 tool payment made in 1998 supported their claim under the 2003 Parallel Benchmarking Agreement. The employer said the 1998 payment was a one-off and that the foremen did not perform craft duties as part of their normal work. The Court saw no basis to extend the allowance to the foremen. The recommendation was signed on 23 June 2006.