February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The Labor Court said it had “very considerable doubt as to the extent to which the euro changeover impacted on the staff associated with this claim.”
However, it recommended “on the basis of final closure on this matter” that in the “special circumstances” of the group of workers they should receive a payment of euro 159 plus one day’s annual leave on a “gratuitous” basis.
The euro recognition claim was submitted by SIPTU on behalf of security guards in Cabinteely and head office, porters in head office and all branch cleaning staff.
The bank rejected the claim saying the service staff concerned had not been affected by the changeover.
After agreement was not reached at a conciliation conference under the auspices of the Labor Relations Commission, a full hearing took place in the Labor Court.
The Central Bank’s security staff, cleaners, caterers and porters have already been awarded a special euro 2,032 bonus payment to compensate for the changeover.
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However, the Court turned down a claim for a once off payment of euro 2,539 by 1,130 drivers with Bus Eireann.
The Court decided the company had been “fair and reasonable” for already giving a euro .37 “familiarization allowance” to each driver completing a training program.
The drivers also got 25 minutes overtime per week for the first six weeks of the changeover.