Union chief denies seeking Labour Court role

THE vice-president of the country’s largest trade union has written to his members to explain that he has not been offered or sought a lucrative €150,000 position in the Labour Court.

Brendan Hayes issued a circular to SIPTU’s 200,000 members refuting claims in a newspaper report published yesterday that he was in the running to become the deputy chair of the court.

That article claimed Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, in her role as Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister, planned to give him the role instead of going through a Public Appointment System to find the candidate.