Labour Court declines to recommend Keelings pay claim, calls for 2012 review

The Labour Court did not recommend conceding a 6% pay claim by the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union at Keelings Distribution Limited. Instead, it recommended the claim be reviewed in the first quarter of 2012. The recommendation was signed on 28 October 2010. The union sought an increase due in 2009, made up of 3.5% in April and 2.5% from October, saying it had been deferred under a 2010 agreement and was due for review. The company said it could not afford the increase and that the Ballymun distribution centre needed to remain competitive. The Court said the agreement could have created an expectation that the increase would be addressed in 2011, but did not commit the company to granting it. It recommended that the review consider economic circumstances, any applicable ICTU–IBEC protocol and wage movements in comparable employment.