Labour Court reaffirms rejection of Coillte forestry workers' pay claim

The Labour Court reaffirmed its earlier recommendation rejecting a union claim for two analogue pay increases for Coillte forestry workers on the Incentive Bonus Scheme. The rehearing recommendation was dated 17 July 2006. The union, Services Industrial Professional Technical Union, relied on a letter it said showed a continuing pay relationship with local-authority workers. The Court found the letter was not new evidence because it had been presented at a 1981 hearing. It also cited Coillte's 1995 pay restructuring, private-sector wage agreements since 1989, and the earlier rejection of the relativity principle. It therefore did not support the claim that a continuing pay relationship existed.