Labour Court recommends talks on Irish Cement lay-off pay

The Labour Court recommended urgent talks between Irish Cement, the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union, Unite and the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union on how to reduce the impact of proposed lay-offs on workers’ take-home pay. It said the cost should be shared between the company and workers, with the company bridging an agreed part of the gap between state income and normal take-home pay. Irish Cement proposed temporarily scaling down production at two plants and laying off general operatives for several weeks in 2010. The unions opposed the plan, while the company said lay-offs could help avoid a plant closure and redundancies. The Court noted its commitment to use suitably qualified direct employees ahead of contractors. The recommendation was signed on 16 March 2010.