Proceedings by the Irish Glass Bottle Company Limited against four trade unions and five former employees of the company were adjourned at the High Court yesterday after it heard of "developments" in the official industrial dispute between the sides.
The dispute relates to severance terms to be paid by the company to former employees of the plant, which has ceased operation.
The Labour Court made a decision on severance terms on June 7th last, but the managing director of the company, Mr Brendan Gorey, said that the company could not pay the terms proposed in that decision.
On June 25th, unofficial industrial action began. This action became official after the serving of strike notice on the company on dates between June 21st and 24th, to take effect between June 28th and July 2nd.
In court on Tuesday, Mr Mark Connaughton, for the company, accepted that the action was official but sought an order restraining trespass on the premises. He said that unlawful actions by former employees were disrupting winding-down operations, and the various entrances to the plant at South Bank Road were blocked.
The judge granted an interim order restraining trespass. The order applied against five former employees. However, the judge did not grant the order against four trade unions - SIPTU, the TEEU (Technical Engineering and Electrial Union) , BATU (Building and Allied Trades Union) and UCATT (Union of Construction Allied Trades and Technicians) Ireland. He said that there was nothing on affidavit to show connivance by the unions in the unlawful activity.
When the matter came back before the court yesterday, Mr Justice Kelly adjourned proceedings to Monday for mention after the five former employees, through counsel, gave undertakings not to trespass on the company's premises or to block access or egress from those. The undertakings replace the interim order.
The judge noted that three of the four trade unions were represented at yetserday's hearing, but no undertaking was being sought from those and none was offered. BATU was not represented in court.
The interim order had restrained trespass at the glass bottle company's premises at South Bank Road, Ringsend, and at the company's warehouse facilities at Parkwest Industrial Estate and Merchants Yard, East Wall Road, Dublin.
Earlier, seeking the adjournment on the basis of undertakings, Mr Connaughton said that there had been developments following negotiations at the Labour Relations Commission on Wednesday night. Proposals had been devised which were endorsed by the trade unions, and these were to be put to a meeting of workers last night. Those proposals incorporated matters dealing with the industrial action.
