Irish Life and sales staff on collision course

IRISH Life and its sales staff appear to be on a collision course following the decision of the company to implement the terms of a Labour Court recommendation issued this week.

The company told the union representing 400 sales staff that it intends to implement the Labour Court recommendation on changes in sales structures from February 3rd. Staff are to vote on the recommendation at a meeting next Wednesday.

The Manufacturing Science Finance union is "not recommending acceptance", said Mr John Tierney, an MSF official. "We are on a slow waltz into collision."

Management and union representatives met yesterday to discuss the recommendation which was issued on Monday after a long running disagreement over new sales structures.

The Labour Court recommended that Irish Life improve its offer on lump sums and commission payments to the sales staff but accepted the company's argument that it "must change its method of operation in order to be competitive".

Both sides were dissatisfied with the outcome. The MSF contended that the court had "ignored the whole issue of change".

Irish Life said yesterday implementing the recommendation would cost £1 million in addition to £2 million already set aside for, training and new technology. "We have agreed with the recommendation with some difficulty and we will implement the terms."

Asked why the company decided to implement the terms before the ballot of sales staff was completed, the spokesman said that, after 15 months of negotiations, Labour Relations Commission meetings and a number of visits to the Labour Court, the company "has reached the end of the negotiating road".

The changes sought by the company were urgent 15 months ago and are "critically important" now, he said. "Our customers want changes and they won't wait. We are not delighted with the recommendation but we are prepared to go along with it.

"The Labour Court has accepted our analysis of the need for change. We do not believe that anything will be changed by reopening the debate," he added.

Yesterday the union asked the company to clarify a number of points in the recommendation, including how staff concerns about security would be dealt with.

Other staff concerns include the company's plan to change salary and commission payments to 12 times per year from the current system of 13 times per year and the implication of this change on the current system of allowing staff to retain some of the funds they collect with the amount then deducted from their next salary payment.