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LCR22328

FULL RECOMMENDATION


CD/20/277
RECOMMENDATION NO. LCR22328

SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990


PARTIES :
FLEXTRONICS INTERNATIONAL IRELAND LIMITED

- AND -

A NUMBER OF GENERAL OPERATIVES
(REPRESENTED BY SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION)


DIVISION :

Chairman: Mr Haugh
Employer Member: Mr Marie
Worker Member: Ms Tanham

SUBJECT:

1. Enhanced Terms and Conditions / Pay Increase.

BACKGROUND:

2. This dispute relates to a claim for a pay increase for 87 General Operatives of 4%. The last pay agreement expired in June 2020.

  • This dispute could not be resolved at local level and was the subject of a Conciliation Conference under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission. As agreement was not reached, the dispute was referred to the Labour Court on the 5 October 2020 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990.

A Labour Court hearing took place on 27 November 2020.

UNIONS ARGUMENTS:


3. 1. The Company should implement a pay increase of 4% for the Workers.

2. The Company should discount weekends and days rostered off from compassionate leave.

3. The Company should extend the Service Award to include €1,500 for 35 years’ service


EMPLOYER'S ARGUMENTS:
  • 1. The Cork plant is the only remaining Flex non-medical contract manufacturing site in western Europe. 2. Flex corporate issued a directive in April 2020 stating that due to the pandemic it was necessary to implement cost control measures including no merit increases.

    3. The Company was forced to place 44 employees on the pandemic unemployment payment varying across a 2-month period.

RECOMMENDATION :

Background to the dispute

The most recent company-union pay agreement at Flextonics International Ireland Limited (‘the Company’) expired on 30 June 2020. The Parties commenced discussions locally in relation to a follow-on agreement in mid-June 2020. They availed themselves of the assistance of the Conciliation Service of the Workplace Relations Commission in September 2020 but did not manage to reach an agreement. The matter was referred to the Court on 5 October 2020. The Court heard the Parties in a virtual hearing on 13 November 2020.

The Union’s Submission

The Union is seeking a one-year pay agreement to commence on 1 July 2020 as well as a number of improvements to Members’ terms and conditions, as follows:
  • • A pay increase of 4% with effect from 1 July 2020;

    • Weekends and rostered off days to be discounted from periods of compassionate leave;

    • An enhancement of the Company’s Long Service Award Scheme to include a payment of €1,500.00 to workers who accrue 35 years’ service with the Company;

    • The introduction of a VHI Scheme for all workers in line with that currently available to management;

    • Sick pay benefit to be increased to 6 weeks per annum; and

    • A Solidarity Payment to reward workers for attending and maintaining production during the pandemic.


The Company’s Submission

The Company informed the Court that it was subject to a corporate directive that advised that there would be no merit increases in pay in 2020 across the entire group of companies due to the impact of Covid-19 on the business (other than increases that had been agreed prior to the pandemic). The Company’s spokesman also stated that the Cork operation, in particular, was under additional pressure as it was not achieving its targets in 2020. For the foregoing reasons, the Company was not in a position to concede any pay increase for 2020-21. However, the Company was willing to concede (at least in part) two elements of the Union’s claim: the discounting of annual leave and rostered days off from periods of compassionate leave; and a long-service payment of €1,000.00 to workers who accrue 35 years’ service with the Company.

Recommendation

Having regard to the course of negotiations between the Parties, as outlined in the submissions before the Court, the Court does not accept that the sick pay and VHI elements of the claim are properly before it.

Having carefully considered the Parties’ positions, the Court recommends as follows:
  • • A pay increase of 2% back dated to 1 July 2020;

    • The Compassionate Leave Scheme to be amended to that annual leave and rostered off days are to be discounted; and

    • The payment of a long-service payment of €1,000.00 to workers who accrue 35 years’ service with the Company.


The Court so recommends.

Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Alan Haugh
CR ______________________
23 December, 2020 Deputy Chairman


NOTE

Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Ciaran Roche, Court Secretary.