Labour Court rejects Jones Engineering workers’ claim for Diageo site allowance

The Labour Court recommended against a site allowance for workers at Jones Engineering’s Diageo site, rejecting the union’s claim for an increase equal to one hour’s pay per day. The recommendation was dated 23 August 2019. Unite argued that workers at the site received no additional travel time because it was within four kilometres of the GPO, while workers farther away did. It also said the work carried expectations beyond those at other company projects. Jones Engineering said travel time was covered by existing agreements and disputed that the site’s demands were greater. The Court cited a national pay agreement providing increases of 2.7% from 1 September 2019 and a further 2.7% from 1 September 2020, and found no basis to recommend the additional 12.5% allowance.