SIPTU members at the Kerry Group plants in Charleville, County Cork, have overwhelmingly voted to implement a one-day work stoppage on Monday, 30th January, in response to a management refusal to attend a conciliation meeting at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) to discuss proposed changes to workers’ terms and conditions of employment. SIPTU Organiser, Terry Bryan, said: “Our members have voted by a margin of 94% to 6% in favour of taking industrial action as a direct result of a management decision to withdraw from the WRC process. This provocative step by management is clearly in breach of the agreed dispute resolution procedures at the company. “The collective agreement on dispute resolution is a procedural method of dealing with matters of disagreement between the company and our members. It clearly states that should a matter remain unresolved between the parties, then it shall be referred to the appropriate third party body, in this case, the WRC.” He added: “The items that are in dispute include proposed changes to shift patterns and terms, job rotation and appointments. These matters were due before the Labour Court on 28th November 2016. However, management withdrew from that scheduled hearing and have now refused to attend a conciliation meeting at the WRC. “The one-day stoppage is avoidable if the company complies with its agreed dispute resolution procedures and attends the proposed WRC meeting.”
SIPTU members in Kerry Group to conduct stoppage in response to company refusal to attend WRC
Jan 24, 2017 | Archives, PressArchive, PressArchive2017