Brinks staff to strike Monday despite initial vote to end dispute

A STRIKE by security staff at the Brinks Allied firm is set to go ahead on Monday following the company's rejection of a Labour Court recommendation aimed at resolving the dispute.

Hundreds of ATMs in Dublin and on the east coast have been left without cash.

Although the SIPTU workers yesterday voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Labour Court's recommendations, management later rejected them as unworkable.

The three-week-old dispute is over the introduction of new security vans and new health and safety procedures.

In a statement issued on behalf of Brinks Allied last night, the company said it had informed the Labour Court that it was "not in a position to accept the court's recommendation".

The statement said: "The company has advised the court that its needs are specialised to ensure safety and security is at a level that affords staff the best protection available.

"Equally, the company has to be in a position to restore customer confidence in its operations. In these special circumstances the company is unable to accept the recommendation."

An end to the dispute had earlier looked likely when workers met at Liberty Hall and substantially endorsed the recommendations by 50 votes to nine.

Padraig Yeates of SIPTU said in light of the company's rejection of the Labour Court recommendations, the planned strike on Monday would go ahead.

The Labour Court has recommended SIPTU staff return to work using the new Dutch cash-in-transit vehicles for an interim period of one month.

It said Brinks Allied should also defer its insistence that drivers leave the scene of an armed robbery, even if a colleague was left behind.

The court recommended SIPTU workers be paid €750 in compensation for the three weeks they were locked out during the dispute. It also recommended that SIPTU and Brinks resume local negotiations to resolve the dispute, with the option of referring the dispute back to the Court if an agreement was not reached.

Brinks Allied indicated it was appreciative of the work done by the Labour Court and that it was available to talk with its workforce to resolve the issue.