The Labour Court recommended how Becton Dickinson Penel Limited Irish Branch, Trading As BD, should apply its collective agreement in a redundancy dispute with the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union. The recommendation was signed on 17 December 2010.
The company planned to close its Kitting Department and outsource the remaining work, making six kitting staff redundant. The union said the selection was unfair and contrary to the 1986 Agreement; the company said six other roles were also being eliminated and automation prevented it from offering suitable alternative jobs.
The Court recommended that temporary employees be laid off first, then staff be invited to apply for redundancy. If too many applied, the company should select from among them; if too few applied, it should make the remaining redundancies by seniority within the plant. The agreement provided for no other arrangement.