The Labour Court has recommended that production workers at Apple’s Cork operation receive a higher pay increase than previously offered by the iPhone maker.
In a recommendation concerning a pay row between Apple and Siptu, Labour Court deputy chairman Alan Haugh said 408 Apple production operators at the tech giant’s Holyhill manufacturing facility in Cork should receive an additional 1.25 per cent increase in pay.
The court’s recommended 1.25 per cent pay increase is in addition to a 3 per cent pay increase backdated to October 1st last that has been paid by Apple without prejudice to the outcome of the Labour Court recommendation.
As part of its argument, Siptu claimed that Apple had offered pay increases of 45 per cent from 2018 to non-union retail workers in the US but only 9.05 per cent to the Cork production operators in an equivalent 39-month time frame.
Siptu was asking the court to recommend a pay increase of 5.5 per cent over a 12-month time frame to be backdated to October 1st, 2021, due to the prevailing high rate of inflation and the general increase in the cost of living since the start of this year.
In response, Apple contended that the 3 per cent pay offer for one year and a commitment to further engagement on follow-on pay phases was more than reasonable and already took account of market conditions in October 2021.
Apple — which employs about 6,000 people in Cork — further contended that employees were already in receipt of various benefits, including a once-off payment of €900 to all staff during the pandemic to support home workspaces.
Apple said this was also paid to Cork-based employees despite Cork being an on-site production environment where there was no home office requirement.
The tech giant argued that the union’s claim for a 5.5 per cent pay increase from October 1st last based on inflation was not sustainable.
