NCT workers to share productivity windfall of €500k

Workers at National Car Test (NCT) centres across the country are set to share a windfall of around €500,000 in a proposed productivity deal.

It follows a Labour Court recommendation that 440 workers receive lump sums from the NCT operator, Applus+, ranging from €500 to €2,000 as part of the productivity scheme.

According to Siptu, the proposed deal will result in NCT workers dealing, per shift, with 14 tests in compact centres and 16 in high volume centres.

However, he said the Labour Court recommendation had yet to be voted on by members and he hoped the vote would take place in December. The Siptu spokesman said workers voted down a Labour Relations Commission (LRC) proposal on productivity during the summer, on a margin of 69% to 31%.

The lower €500 is to workers for formal recognition of the scheme, and the €2,000 is to workers who will have their terms and conditions changed.

The Labour Relations Commission (LRC) stated the productivity scheme had been operating successfully for the past 12 months at NCT centres.

Applus+ recorded profits of €4.9m on revenues of €64.3m in 2013 after 1.78m tests were carried out.

In the LRC document, the company said it would give a 2% pay increase in January if the proposals were accepted and that, if rejected, the proposal would be withdrawn.

The LRC had recommended a group of workers receive a lump sum payment of €1,000 to agree to the productivity deal with the remaining group receiving a lump sum of €250.

The Labour Court has recommended that those lump sum payments be doubled to €2,000 and €500 respectively.

The Siptu spokesman said the two groups each represent around 50% of Applus+’s 440 testers affected by the recommendation.

Siptu argued before the Labour Court that the company’s proposal would undermine the integrity of the testing process while the firm argued the process would be enhanced.

Siptu also argued Applus+ was proposing to impose these changes without agreement and the workers’ existing terms and conditions of employment must be respected. In response, Applus+ said its proposed targets were reasonable and attainable.

The Labour Court recommends all staff formally agree to co-operate with the productivity scheme.

A spokeswoman for Applus+ declined to comment yesterday as it has sought clarification on a number of points from the Labour Court.