Labour Court recommends Irish Wheelchair Association apply Lansdowne Road pay increases

The Labour Court recommended that the Irish Wheelchair Association apply the pay increases set out in the Lansdowne Road Agreement from the dates specified in the agreement. The recommendation, in a pay restoration dispute brought by the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union, was dated 20 November 2017. The union said workers had taken public sector pay cuts and their pay was linked to Health Service Executive scales. It argued they should receive corresponding restoration, including an increase due on 1 April 2017. The association agreed that the pay link existed but said it could not afford the increase without additional funding, which it had sought but not received. The Court found workers’ pay was aligned with HSE scales and said the funding difficulty did not justify withholding restoration. It also criticised using the Labour Court process to meet an administrative requirement of the association’s funder.