S.I. No. 275/1975 - Employment Regulation Order (Packing Joint Labour Committee), 1975.


S.I. No. 275 of 1975.

EMPLOYMENT REGULATION ORDER (PACKING JOINT LABOUR COMMITTEE), 1975.

WHEREAS the Labour Court (hereinafter called "the Court") pursuant to the provisions of Section 43 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 (hereinafter called "the Act") made Employment Regulation Order (Packing Joint Labour Committee), 1974 dated 31st May, 1974 ( S.I. No. 161 of 1974 ) (hereinafter called "the said Order") fixing the statutory minimum remuneration and regulating the statutory conditions of employment of workers in relation to whom the Packing Joint Labour Committee (hereinafter called "the Committee") operates.

AND WHEREAS the Committee has submitted to the Court a proposal for revoking the said Order;

AND WHEREAS the Committee has also submitted to the Court the proposals set out in the Schedule hereto for fixing the statutory minimum rates of remuneration and regulating the statutory conditions of employment of workers in relation to whom the committee operates;

AND WHEREAS the provisions of Section 43 of the Act have been complied with;

NOW, THEREFORE, the Court, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Section 43 of the Act hereby orders as follows:—

(1) This Order may be cited as the Employment Regulation Order (Packing Joint Labour Committee), 1975.

(2) Effect is hereby given to the proposals set out in the Schedule hereto.

(3) The provisions set out in the Schedule hereto shall have effect as from 28th November, 1975, and as from that date the said Order shall be revoked.

SCHEDULE

PART I

General Minimum Time-Rates and Piece-Work Basis Time-Rate for Male Workers

SECTION I

General Minimum Time-Rates

Per Hour Pence

Date of Order

1/12/75

Male Workers of 21 years of age and upwards

85.02

86.52

 "  "  " 20  " under 21 years of age

60.02

61.08

 "  "  " 19  "  " 20 " " "

54.41

55.37

 "  "  " 18  "  " 19 " " "

46.76

47.59

 "  "  " 17  "  " 18 " " "

38.26

38.93

 "  "  " 16  "  " 17 " " "

33.50

34.09

Male Workers under 16 years of age

31.97

32.53

SECTION II

Per Hour Pence

Date of Order

1/12/75

Piece-Work Basis Time-Rate for all Male Workers

85.73

87.23

Male Workers while employed on Piece-Work shall be entitled to receive Piece-Rates each of which would yield, in the circumstance of the case, to an ordinary worker not less than 85.73p per hour from date of Order and 87.23p per hour from 1/12/75. In determining whether any piece-rate is sufficient to satisfy this condition, regard must be had only to the earnings of ordinary workers, that is to say, workers of ordinary skill and experience, in the class of work in question and not to the earnings of workers of less than ordinary skill and experience, e.g. learners and infirm workers.

PART II

General Minimum Time-Rates and Piece-Work Basis Time-Rate for Female Workers

SECTION I

General Minimum Time-Rates

Per Hour Pence

Female Workers who have been in employment for not less than three years after completion of learnership

Date of Order

1/12/75

66.43

67.79

Female Workers ( other than those specified above and other than Female Learners)

65.84

67.20

General Minimum Time-Rates for Female Learners

Date of Order

1/12/75

During 1st six months period of learnership

31.62

32.27

 "  2nd " "  " "  "

34.01

34.71

 "  3rd "  "  "  "  "

38.86

39.66

 " 4th "  "   "  " "

41.32

42.17

SECTION II

Per Hour Pence

Date of Order

1/12/75

Piece-Work Basis Time-Rate for all Female Workers

67.66

69.03

Fourth Phase

The Fourth Phase increase—which shall be applied to the basic rate as at the end of the third phase—shall be in accordance with the fourth phase of the National Wage Agreement 1975 as in force on the operative date of the fourth phase.

Female Workers (including Female learners) while employed on Piece-Work shall be entitled to receive Piece-Rates each of which would yield, in the circumstances of the case, to an ordinary worker not less than 67.66p per hour from date of Order and 69.03p per hour from 1/12/75. In determining whether any piece-rate is sufficient to satisfy this condition regard must be had only to the earnings of ordinary workers, that is to say, workers of ordinary skill and experience in the class of work in question and not to the earnings of workers of less than ordinary skill and experience, e.g. learners and infirm workers.

PART III

Normal Working Hours and Overtime Rates

SECTION I

The normal number of hours to be worked by workers in relation to whom the Committee operates shall be as follows:—

( a ) For that class of workers who customarily attend on six days a week:—

In any week

40 hours

On any day other than the short day not exceeding

8 hours

On the short day not exceeding

4 hours

( b ) For that class of workers who customarily attend on five days a week:—

In any week

40 hours

On any day, not exceeding

8 hours

PROVIDED THAT

(i) All hours worked on Sunday and Customary Public or Statutory holidays by a worker of either of the classes (a) or (b), above and all hours worked on the weekly holiday by a worker of class (b) shall be regarded as Overtime to which the Overtime Rates shall apply.

(ii) The Overtime Rates specified in Section II of this Part shall be payable in respect of all hours of Overtime worked on any day notwithstanding that the number of hours worked in that week does not exceed the declared normal number of hours of work for the week.

SECTION II

The minimum rates for Overtime to apply in respect of hours worked by a worker, whether employed on Time-Work or on Piece-Work, in excess of the declared normal number of hours indicated in Section I of this Part, shall be as follows:

( a ) That class of workers who customarily attend on Six days a week:—

(1) On any day other than the short day, Sunday and Customary Public or Statutory Holidays:—

(i) For the first two hours of Overtime, One-and-a-half times the Minimum Rate otherwise applicable, i.e. Time-and-a-half.

(ii) For the second two hours of Overtime, One-and-a-half times the Minimum Rate otherwise applicable, i.e. Time-and-a-half.

(iii) For Overtime after the first four hours of Overtime, Twice the Minimum Rate otherwise applicable, i.e. Double Time.

(2) On the Short day:—

(i) For the first two hours of Overtime, One-and-a-half times the appropriate Minimum Rate otherwise applicable, i.e Time-and-a-half.

(ii) For Overtime after the first two hours of Overtime, Twice the appropriate Minimum Rate otherwise applicable, i.e. Double Time.

( b ) That Class of Workers who customarily attend on five days a week:—

(1) On any day other than the weekly holiday, Sunday and Customary Public or Statutory Holidays:—

(i) For the first two hours of Overtime, One-and-a-half times the Minimum Rate otherwise applicable, i.e. Time-and-a-half.

(ii) For the second two hours of Overtime, One-and-a-half times the Minimum Rate otherwise applicable, i.e. Time-and-a-half.

(iii) For Overtime after the first four hours of Overtime, Twice the Minimum Rate otherwise applicable, i.e. Double Time.

2. On the weekly holiday:—

(i) For the first four hours of Overtime (that is to say for the first four hours of Work), One-and-a-half times the appropriate Minimum Rate otherwise applicable, i.e. Time-and-a-half.

(ii) For Overtime after the first four hours of Overtime, Twice the appropriate Minimum Rate otherwise applicable, i.e. Double Time.

( c ) Workers of either of the above-mentioned Classes:—

(i) On Sunday and Customary Public or Statutory Holidays:—

For all hours worked, Twice the appropriate Minimum Rate otherwise applicable, i.e. Double Time.

(ii) For all hours worked in any week in excess of the declared normal number of hours of work for the week, One-and-a-half times the appropriate Minimum Rate otherwise applicable, i.e. Time-and-a-half except in so far as higher Overtime Rates are payable under the provisions of any of the preceding paragraphs of this Section.

PART IV

Conditions Governing Learnership

SECTION I:—A female Learner is a Worker who:—

( a ) Is employed during the whole or a substantial part of the hours of work in learning any branch or process of the Trade by an Employer who provides the Learner with reasonable facilities for learning such branch or process and

( b ) Has received a Learner's Certificate or has been registered as a Learner in the Trade, or has made an application for such certificate of registration which has been duly acknowledged and is still under consideration.

PROVIDED THAT:—

(i) The Learner's Certificate of registration shall become invalid if the other conditions of learnership are not complied with.

(ii) An Employer may employ a Learner on first employment in the Trade, as defined in this Schedule, without a Learner's Certificate of registration for a probationary period not exceeding four weeks, but in the event of such Learner being mentioned thereafter in such employment, the probationary period shall be included in the period of Learnership.

(iii) A Learner shall cease to be a Learner and shall become entitled to the Minimum Rate payable to Workers other than Learners, on the completion of two years' employment in the Trade.

(iv) Any worker who has previously been employed in any branch of the Trade, as defined in this Schedule, and has not been registered as a Learner, nor has held a Learner's Certificate and who is subsequently employed as a Learner shall count the whole period of such previous employment for the purpose of claiming the time-rate at which such worker is to be paid.

(v) An application for a Learner's Certificate must be made to the Joint Labour Committee in respect of every worker engaged in learning the trade, whom it is desired to employ at the Minimum Rates fixed for Learners. Unless a Learner's Certificate has been obtained, or an application therefor has been made which has been acknowledged and is still under consideration and the other conditions of Learnership laid down in the Schedule are complied with, the Minimum Rate payable shall be that fixed for workers other than learners.

(vi) Notwithstanding compliance with the conditions contained in this part of the Schedule, a person shall not be deemed to be a Learner if such person works in a room used for dwelling purposes and is not in the employment of such worker's parent or guardian.

SECTION II:—The issue of Certificates to Female Learners shall be governed by the following conditions relative to the provision of reasonable facilities for learning the trade.

(1) The proportion of Learners in the Trade to other workers employed therein, shall not, as a general rule, exceed one Female Learner to two other Female Workers, in the case of any particular employer and the issue of Learner's Certificates shall be restricted accordingly.

(2) Where, however, the Joint Labour Committee is satisfied in any particular case that special facts or circumstances so require, the Committee may authorise the issue of Learner's Certificates in excess of the proportion above specified.

SECTION III:—The Joint Labour Committee may, if it thinks fit, refer to a sub-committee appointed under the provisions of paragraph 8 of the Second Schedule to the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 , applications made to it under this Part of the Schedule and may also, if it thinks fit, delegate to the sub-committee so appointed any or all of its powers and duties thereunder and the expression Joint Labour Committee used in Section I and II of this Part shall include the sub-committee so appointed.

PART V

Definition of Workers

The above statutory Minimum Remuneration shall be payable subject to the provisions of the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 and of this Order to all workers specified in this Schedule in respect of any time during which they are employed in any Branch of the Trade specified in the Trade Boards (Packing) Order, 1934, that is to say:—

The processes of wrapping, filling, labelling, bottling, placing in boxes, tins, cartons, envelopes, cardboard or other containers of any kind whatsoever and all similar operations incidental to the sale, retail or wholesale, of the following commodities:—

( a ) seeds of fruits, vegetables and flowers;

( b ) foods, drinks and condiments (whether for the consumption of human beings, animals or birds);

( c ) cosmetics, perfumes, medicinal preparations, druggists sundries;

( d ) polishes, blacklead, starch, blue, soda, soap powders, candles, chandlery and matches;

( e ) ink, glue and paste.

BUT EXCLUDING:—

(i) Any such process or operation which is included in a trade to which the Trade Boards Acts, 1909 and 1918, apply for the time being;

(ii) Any such process or operation which is carried on in premises in which the commodity the object of such process or operation is manufactured;

(iii) Any such process or operation which is carried on in premises in which the commodity of the object of such process or operation is sold retail or offered for sale retail;

(iv) Any such process or operation in respect of alcoholic drinks;

(v) Any such process or operation in respect of "eggs in shell".

PART VI

Annual Holidays

Workers in relation to whom the Committee operates shall be granted holidays in accordance with the provisions of the Holidays (Employees) Act, 1961 .

( a ) A worker in relation to whom the committee operates and who qualified for annual leave under the Holidays (Employees) Act, 1961 shall be granted 5 additional days annual leave.

( b ) The expression "employment year" where used in this Part shall have the meaning ascribed to it in the Holidays (Employees) Act, 1961 .

( c ) Additional annual leave may be granted at such time as may be agreed between the worker and the employer.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Labour Court this 26th day of November, 1975.

(Signed) D. MacDIARMADA

A person authorised under Section 18 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 , to authenticate the Seal of the Court.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This Instrument fixes new statutory minimum rates of pay and regulates statutory conditions of employment as from the 28th November, 1975 for workers employed in the Packing Trade. It is made by the Labour Court on the recommendation of the Packing Joint Labour Committee.