Labour Court recommends two 2% pay rises after union’s 10% claim

The Labour Court recommended that CPM Ireland Limited employees receive a 2% pay increase from 1 July 2017 and a further 2% from 1 July 2018. The recommendation was signed on 23 January 2018, after the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union sought a 10% increase for July 2016 to June 2019. The union said pay had been adjusted only once since 2011 and workers had cooperated with new technology and processes. CPM Ireland Limited said its fixed price contract limited its ability to pay, and rising insurance costs had reduced the contract margin. The Court weighed the company’s circumstances and ability to absorb the costs against the union’s submissions on pay history. It also noted that the 2015 pay increase had no time parameter and the later claim was clarified at the hearing.