Labour Court recommends 44-person maintenance workforce at Mondelez’s Coolock plant

The Labour Court recommended merging electrician and fitter grades at Mondelez (Cadbury's) into a Maintenance Technician grade, with a target workforce of 44 at its Coolock plant. The recommendation, signed on 17 February 2016, said the target should be reached through the company’s voluntary redundancy scheme. Staff transferring to the new grade would retain their current terms and conditions. The dispute concerned the cost and organisation of electrical and mechanical maintenance. The Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union supported keeping a directly employed maintenance workforce, while Mondelez had considered outsourcing the function before proposing the changes. The Court recommended that the union accept management’s proposals on shift and plant alignment, and that existing compensation arrangements apply to staff losing earnings because of shift changes. It also recommended a two-year cap on the tool allowance and continued operation of the 2007 agreement on contractors, with a review after the new grade had been operating for 12 months.