Labour Court recommends further pension talks for Pfizer staff and unions

The Labour Court recommended that pension arrangements for about 100 Pfizer Ireland Ltd staff be addressed in further discussions with the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union and the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union. The recommendation was signed on 14 November 2016. The unions argued that new hires should receive the collective agreement’s terms and that the company could not change terms without agreement. Pfizer Ireland Ltd said it had made its position clear before recruiting and could not bear the cost of the union’s late disagreement. The Court said agreements should be honoured until replaced, while noting the union side had notice of the company’s intentions for new staff. It recommended that the pension arrangements be addressed in discussions between the parties, with unresolved issues referred back to the Court for a definitive recommendation.