Labour Court recommends talks on Bord Gais fitters’ productivity agreement

The Labour Court recommended that Bord Gais and the Bge Group of Unions discuss how the 1992 fitters’ productivity agreement should apply from 2009 onwards. The recommendation was signed on 26 July 2012. The unions said national wage increases had stopped applying to the agreement’s top two productivity rates in 2003. Bord Gais rejected the claim, saying the rates had not changed since 2002 and the fitters had accepted them. The Court noted that the agreement provided for the rates to rise in line with national wage agreements, and that the issue was formally raised in 2009. It recommended discussions about applying the agreement from that point.