Labour Court rejects unions’ claim for guaranteed relief staff hours

The Labour Court did not recommend the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union and the Irish Municipal, Public and Civil Trade Union’s claim for regular hours for relief care assistants at Ability West. The recommendation was signed on 11 March 2014. The unions said workers on contracts of indefinite duration had established regular work patterns but no guaranteed hours. Ability West said its relief panel met its needs and that it could not afford contracts with specified hours. The Court said it could not find in favour of the claim without detailed information about the workers’ positions, most of whom were not parties to the case.