Labour Court gives Dairygold and union six weeks to refine dispute affecting 69 Workers

The Labour Court recommended that Dairygold Mallow and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union work with the Workplace Relations Commission for six weeks to resolve or refine a dispute affecting 69 Workers. The recommendation was signed on 9 March 2021. The dispute covered staffing, work practices, working patterns, grading and working-time arrangements. Dairygold said operational changes were needed for efficiency and site sustainability; the union sought discussions and a workplace study on staffing and safety. The Court said the parties had not adequately narrowed their differences and declined to make definitive recommendations on the wider issues at that stage. It noted that six of seven remaining red-circled employees intended to take voluntary severance and recommended they be facilitated to leave after a collective agreement enabled the exits. Any loss-of-earnings compensation for the remaining individual should follow existing arrangements.