The Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) has delivered a ruling that mandates Grove Broadcasting Company Limited, the owner and operators of IRIE FM, to compensate its employees for a salary reduction that was unilaterally implemented by the radio station in 2020. The case was brought before the IDT by the National Workers Union (NWU) on behalf of the affected staff.
In an extensive 18-page judgment, the IDT deemed IRIE FM’s independent implementation of salary cuts for its employees as a breach of good industrial relations practices and a violation of the Labour Relations Code. The Tribunal ruled that the employees impacted by the salary reductions, which took place from April to September 2020, are entitled to receive the difference in their salaries for that specified period. This ruling comes after IRIE FM informed its workforce in March 2020 about its intention to carry out mass layoffs due to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Responding to this announcement, the employees took collective industrial action on March 31. Following negotiations between the radio station and the NWU, an agreement was reached for the staff to resume work on April 1 and for the company to rescind the layoff notices. Both parties had also agreed to engage in further discussions to address the concerns at hand.
However, on April 20, IRIE FM proceeded to both lay off a portion of its staff and decrease the salaries of the remaining employees. In their pursuit of resolution, the NWU sought the intervention of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, but a satisfactory outcome was not achieved. Subsequently, the case was brought before the IDT for arbitration and settlement.
