Labour Court rejects Unite’s bid for longer Waterford Crystal redundancy payments

The Labour Court recommended that Waterford Crystal Ltd honour its commitment to pay phased redundancy terms in full, but rejected Unite’s requests for enhanced terms and a longer payment period. The recommendation was signed on 7 January 2008. After outsourcing and restructuring led to redundancies, the company and Unite agreed to phase payments over 52 weeks. Unite sought enhanced terms, a further 26 weeks of payments and a guarantee. The Court found the terms fair and reasonable and did not recommend an enhancement or extension. For 85 remaining craftworkers covered by a 2003 deferred pension agreement, the Court recommended further discussions between the parties by 16 February 2009. It declined to adjudicate on a separate pension fund issue that had not been jointly referred.