The Labour Court recommended improved redundancy terms for workers facing the planned closure of Teva Pharmaceutical IRL’s Solid Dose business, which was expected to result in 315 job losses by the end of 2010. Its recommendation was signed on 19 April 2010 after a dispute with SIPTU / Agemo over redundancy selection and the terms offered.
The company relied on its 1996 collective agreement and said it needed to retain key skills for the continuing business. The unions sought voluntary redundancies, selection based on seniority and better terms. The Court recommended immediately exploring voluntary departures, reviewing contract roles, eliminating temporary jobs and transferring a limited number of workers, with that exercise to finish by 14 May 2010.
After that, it recommended that the agreement’s selection criteria prevail and that the unions accept the company’s key-skills proposals. It also recommended a package of eight weeks’ pay per year of service, including statutory redundancy, with weekly pay based on average earnings. Other parts of the company’s package were to remain.