Labour Court recommends repayment of lost pay to nine Dublin Port workers

The Labour Court recommended that Dublin Port Company repay nine workers for lost pay during suspensions and remove the suspensions from their personnel records. The recommendation was signed on 25 June 2007. The dispute with the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union, the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians and the General Municipal Boilermakers Union covered tug manning, training for shore-based technicians and suspensions. The Court accepted the company’s interpretation that technicians must train to provide infrequent emergency engine-room cover, without joining the rostered tug crews. The Court said poor consultation and a lack of trust had contributed to the misunderstanding behind the suspensions. It considered safeguards in the 2006 agreement sufficient to address the requested audit of existing agreements.