LCR23326

PARTIES:

DIVISION:

SUBJECT:

Retrospective payment of 2022 merit increase to salaried staff represented by Unite the Union.

BACKGROUND:

The dispute was referred to the Labour Court in accordance with Section 26 (1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1990.

A Labour Court Hearing took place on 11 September 2026.

RECOMMENDATION:

The matter before the Court is a dispute about retrospective payment of a 2022 merit increase for salaried workers represented by Unite the Union. This matter comes before the Court as a joint referral by the parties under Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990.

The background to the dispute is as follows. Operations at Tara Mines were suspended in July 2023 and most workers placed on temporary lay-off. An agreement (the “Sustainability Agreement”) concluded between management and the Group of Unions (Unite the Union, Connect and SIPTU) in April 2024 with the assistance of the WRC set out a framework facilitating the re-opening of the mine. The “Sustainability Agreement” provided, among other things, that a claim in respect of a 2022 “merit increase” was not precluded from being pursued through procedures.

In 2025, the parties engaged in a review of the “Sustainability Agreement”, again with the assistance of the WRC. After extensive engagement a WRC proposaldated November 2025 was balloted on separately by the unions. Members of Unite the Union rejected the proposal as one aspect of the proposal, relating to a once off lump sum payment of €1,500 for the 2022 merit increase, was deemed unacceptable.

The parties sought a joint referral to the Labour Court in line with the agreed disputes resolution procedures.

Union Arguments

Union members seek that the 2022 Merit increase is applied to eligible workers as a consolidated addition to basic pay, rather than as a once off payment.

The merit increase relates to performance and responsibilities undertaken in 2022. Employees completed the relevant work and met the objectives upon which assessment was based. While the Union acknowledges the financial difficulties experienced by the company, the wider Group is very profitable.Employees made significant concessions under the “Sustainability Agreement” and should not suffer ongoing losses.

Company Arguments

The company is a standalone business within Boliden Group and has experienced significant and sustained losses since 2022. The mine is not currently meeting budgeted production targets

The purpose of the 2025 review was to ensure that the “Sustainability Agreement” was working effectively to ensure financial viability and sustainable employment. The legacy merit increase claim was one of several cost increasing claims encompassed in the review exercise. The WRC proposal in November 2025 was presented as a package. Merit increases are not contractual entitlements, and the merit increase review did not create an automatic entitlement to any payment in 2022.

The Court has given careful consideration to the submissions made by both sides.

In November 2025 the WRC issued a proposal which the Commission stated was the best outcome achievable at that time. The proposal was balloted on separately by each union in the Group of Unions. The Court understand that, after the WRC and ballot processes concluded, the company engaged at local level with the other two unions within the Group of Unions on the issue of merit increases. Following that engagement an enhanced proposal on merit increases for 2022 was applied to eligible members in the two other unions in the Group of Unions.

There was some disparity between the parties at the hearing about whether a formal offer to re-engage on the revised merit increase proposal was made by the company to Unite the Union in January 2026.  It is accepted that no formal engagement between the Company and Unite the Union took place. That is matter of concern to the Court.

In assisting parties resolve a trade dispute, the Labour Court operates on the basis that all internal processes have been fully exhausted by the parties, and that all relevant matters arising in relation to a dispute have been fully shared and ventilated between the parties. It appears that did not happen in this case as there was no formal engagement between the parties on the company’s revised proposal regarding the 2022 merit increase.

In all the circumstances, the Court is of the view that the parties would benefit from further engagement on that point. The Court recommends that the parties return to their agreed dispute resolution procedure and engage, with the assistance of the WRC if required, with a view to reaching agreement on the 2022 merit increase.  The Labour Court remains available to assist the parties should the parties remain in dispute.

The Court so recommends.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Katie Connolly
BB	______________________
29/09/2026	Deputy Chairman

NOTE

Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be in writing and addressed to Bernard Byrne, Court Secretary.