The ESB's 8,000 employees are to receive £2,000 each under a new profit-sharing award. This is a once-off payment based on the company's recent record profits and in recognition of the huge savings secured under the 1996 Cost and Competitiveness Review.
The new Joint Industrial Council award, which will cost £16 million, is to be paid to employees in two moieties of £1,000 each. The first instalment will be paid on acceptance of the award by the unions and the second in January 2000.
The award was made by the company's JIC two days ago and is now going to ballot.
Employees already have a scheme to obtain 5 per cent of the company. This was part of the CCR agreement. The 5 per cent shareholding is to be funded from company profits and will be put in place when the ESB becomes a public limited company.
The unions put in a profit-sharing claim earlier this year for 10 per cent of the profits generated by the ESB since the beginning of 1997. The company made £160 million that year and £200 million in 1998. The unions were also hoping to make the claim the basis for an ongoing share of profits.
Under the CCR, profits of between £60 million and £65 million had been envisaged. The unions felt that the claim was justified by the huge profits the ESB is now making and is provided for under the profit-sharing arrangements in Partnership 2000.
The JIC conceded that the extraordinary profits generated by the CCR warranted a special once-off profit-sharing bonus to employees. It said the impact of making such an award on an ongoing basis would have a detrimental effect on the plan to use profits to buy employees a permanent 5 per cent interest in the company.
The ESB group of unions has decided to ballot company employees with a recommendation that they accept the JIC proposal.