Labour Court recommends €300 bonus payment and appraisal changes at PWA International

The Labour Court recommended a once-off €300 payment for staff at Pwa International Limited who received less than that amount in the first quarter of 2007. The recommendation, signed on 6 November 2008, also calls for the company and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union to agree transparent appraisal criteria, apply them retrospectively to 2007 and provide an internal appeal process. The union said the bonus criteria kept changing and workers had taken part in the relevant projects. Pwa International Limited said staff had to join two teams and attend at least two meetings to qualify, and that workers who participated had been paid. The Court did not apportion blame for the dispute, which it said had caused friction in a previously productive relationship. The €300 payment is a one-off arrangement and was to be made within three weeks of the recommendation’s acceptance.