The Labour Court has recommended that a Waterford city builders\u2019 provider and DIY retailer pay its 80 staff a cumulative \u20ac48,000 as “a gesture of goodwill” in return for using a new in-store two-way radio communication system.<\/p>\n
At the Labour Court, Deputy Chairwoman Katie Connolly has recommended that Morris (Builders Providers) Ltd, located on the Cork Road, Waterford city, give its 80 retail staff a once-off tax-free voucher of \u20ac600 and the parties should now engage in relation to the implementation and operation of the two-way radio system with immediate effect.<\/p>\n
The workplace dispute concerning the two-way radio system has been going on for more than two years and has not been resolved at a local level.<\/p>\n
The Labour Court decision records that in October 2023, the company sought to introduce the two-way radio communication system within the store and proposed that staff who voluntarily opted in to using the system would receive a tax-free voucher to the value of \u20ac250, or \u20ac500 for those with more than ten years\u2019 service.<\/p>\n
However, the move faced opposition with the UNITE union arguing before the Labour Court that the proposed introduction of the two-way radio system “represents a unilateral change to established work practices and is inconsistent with the company\u2019s initial proposal that participation would be on a voluntary basis only”.<\/p>\n
UNITE stated that it did not object to the adoption of the two-way radio system, however, the mandate from Union members is that any co-operation is on a voluntary basis.<\/p>\n
UNITE stated that its members “have raised significant health and safety concerns about the universal introduction of the new system and sought assurances that a review and appropriate risk assessments would be carried out”.<\/p>\n
UNITE stated that “members are willing to consider participation if it is supported by appropriate safeguards and compensation”.<\/p>\n
UNITE was seeking that the court make a recommendation providing for payment of a once-off tax-free voucher to the value of \u20ac500 to be paid in 2025 and in 2026, with two additional days of annual leave to be granted on a once-off basis in 2025 and 2026.<\/p>\n
UNITE was also seeking that appropriate risk assessments are carried out for all roles, particularly those involving the operation of machinery, through further structured local level engagement, and an assurance that no employees are subject to detriment, disciplinary action or adverse treatment arising from the utilisation of the system.<\/p>\n
At the Labour Court, the firm stated that it has an agreement in place with Unite, which allows it to introduce new technology.<\/p>\n
The company pointed out that the use of such equipment is commonplace in the retail sector and it is necessary that all staff agree to use the radios, but not all staff will be required to do so on a daily basis.<\/p>\n
The firm stated that the company has taken several actions to address concerns raised.<\/p>\n
It stated that a health and safety consultant was engaged to develop a policy on the use of two-way radios, including how to use them when driving a forklift and operating machinery.<\/p>\n
The company stated that protective pouches are available when work involves lifting or outside operations.<\/p>\n
Each person is allocated their own earpiece to eliminate any risk of cross-contamination.<\/p>\n
Handsets can be used instead of earpieces, if preferred, while the radio system can be reprogrammed to reduce background chatter and distractions.<\/p>\n
The firm stated that UNITE has agreed in principle to the reintroduction of two-way radios – albeit for a significant and unjustified cost.<\/p>\n
In the three person Labour Court recommendation, Ms Connolly stated that the court notes that since the initial proposal was made by the company in October 2023, there has been extensive engagement between the parties to address concerns raised in relation to the introduction of a two-way radio system for all staff.<\/p>\n
Ms Connolly stated that the court was satisfied that the proposed introduction of a two-way communication system constitutes normal ongoing change in the place of employment.<\/p>\n
She stated that it is not the practice of the court to recommend compensation awards for the introduction of what is deemed to be normal ongoing change.<\/p>\n
Ms Connolly noted however that the firm, in this case, made a company proposal to staff in good faith as a token of appreciation for their cooperation with the new system.<\/p>\n
She stated that the court recommends that the company amend its proposal, as a gesture of goodwill, so that all staff who are required to utilise the new system receive a once-off tax-free voucher of \u20ac600.<\/p>\n
Group accounts for the builders\u2019 provider and DIY business filed by Barena Holdings Ltd show that it recorded pre-tax profits of \u20ac1.55m in 2024 as revenues increased by 11pc \u20ac29.24m with directors projecting revenues to reach \u20ac30m in 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Labour Court has recommended that a Waterford city builders\u2019 provider and DIY retailer pay its 80 staff…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,61,60],"class_list":{"0":"post-381914","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}