1) Labour Court After the dispute was in progress for a week, it was agreed, by all the parties that the outstanding issue of pay would be jointly referred to the Labour Court for investigation and recommendation. The Labour Court recommended that the outstanding 4.9% from 1st April 2008 be paid in two phases from 1st September 2009 (2.5%) and 1st January 2010 (2.4%) and that the outstanding increase from 1st April 2009 be placed in a process for further discussion at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC). The Electrical Contractors Association (ECA) has accepted the Labour Court Recommendation the recommends while the Association of Electrical Contractors Ireland (AECI) have not.
2) Ministerial Investigation The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlin TD using her powers under Section 38(2) of the Industrial Relations Act 1990 has appointed Peter Cassells (former General Secretary of the ICTU) and Finbarr Flood (former Chairman of the Labour Court) to conduct an investigation into the dispute and report back to her as a matter of urgency. The Tánaiste call on all stakeholders in the electrical contracting sector “to cooperate fully with their work in this investigation, the ultimate objective of which is to identify a way to restore the orderly conduct of relationships between all parties into the future”.
3) Variation Order The 4.9% increase has been referred to the Labour Court, by the TEEU & ECA seeking a Variation Order in order to increase the rates of pay in the Registered Employment Agreement (REA).
4) Strike Pay Strike pay continues to be processed with a closing date of 31st August 2009
