Fifth annual rise in completed cases by Labour Court

The number of cases referred to the Labour Court dropped last year by 6.2 per cent but completed cases rose by 16.2 per cent, according to the court's annual report, writes Marie O'Halloran

Some 812 cases were completed last year compared to 699 in 2004, while referrals dropped from 1,484 in 2004 to 1,392 last year.

Court chairman, Kevin Duffy, said the number of completed cases had increased for the fifth consecutive year, a rise of 64 per cent since 2000.

The increase was due mainly to complaints alleging breaches of registered employment agreements and the referral of disputes where there was no collective bargaining.

The number of cases alleging breaches of agreements rose by 340 per cent since 2000.

"These cases now constitute a significant proportion of the court's overall business," said Mr Duffy.

"This is a reflection of the increased economic activity in the sectors affected, mainly the construction sector, combined with a higher level of monitoring by the unions and the Construction Industry Federation of compliance with the agreements."

Some 49 disputes were referred to the court where the employer did not engage in collective bargaining.

"These cases continued to raise important fundamental issues during 2005 and represent a block of work that makes particular time demands on the court," the chairman said.

Industrial relations cases account for 90 per cent of total referred cases while 10 per cent were referred under legislation such as the Organisation of Working Time Act and the remainder linked to equality, fixed-term and part-time work and the minimum wage.

These Acts "raised novel issues of both Irish and European law in many cases" and "require a considerable input of time by court members", Mr Duffy said.

Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Tony Killeen, welcomed the report and the Court Users' Council, established last year to liaise with the court on procedural and administrative issues.