CANNING INDUSTRY WAGES COUNCIL WAGE REGULATION ORDER

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 452.45

CANNING INDUSTRY WAGES COUNCIL

WAGE REGULATION ORDER

2nd May, 1977

LEGAL NOTICE 51 of 1977, as amended by Legal Notices 90 of 1977,

130 of 1978, 115 of 1989, 427 of 2007, 147 of 2010, 362 of 2012, 334, 444

of 2013, 482 of 2014, 5 of 2016, 97 and 383 of 2017, 104 and 351 of 2019,

469 of 2020, 469 of 2020, 464 of 2021, 335 of 2022, 286 of 2023, 341 of

2024 and 288 of 2025.

The title of this Order is Canning Industry Wages Council

Wage Regulation Order.

1. In this Schedule unless the context otherwise requires -

"customary holidays" means the days (other than Sundays)

declared for the time being to be public holidays by or under the

National Holidays and other Public Holidays Act;

"day" means a period running from midnight of one day to

midnight of the next following day;

"half-day" means a period of twelve consecutive hours ending at

1.00p.m. or 1.00a.m.;

"hours of work" means the time on any day during which

employees are at the disposal of the employer, exclusive of the

intervals allowed for meals and rest;

"part-time employee" means an employee whose normal hours of

work, calculated on a weekly basis or on average over a period of

employment of up to one year, are less than the normal hours of

work of a comparable whole-time employee and who is not a

whole-time employee with reduced hours;

"period of employment" means the time in any day during which

employees are at the disposal of the employer, but inclusive of the

intervals allowed for meals and rest;

"time-and-a-half" and "double-time" mean respectively one and a

half times and twice the minimum time rate applicable to the

employee;

"wages" means remuneration or earnings, payable in money by

an employer to an employee;

"week" means a calendar week;

"weekly day of rest" means a period of twenty-four consecutive

hours commencing at the time at which the worker would normally

commence his turn of duty;

"whole-time employee" means an employee who is deemed to be

a whole-time employee in terms of any recognized conditions of

employment.

2. The minimum weekly remuneration shall be related to a

week of not more than

(a) forty hours in the case of all whole-time employees,

other than watchmen, and

(b) sixty hours of work, spread over a six-day week, in the

case of watchmen.

The provisions set out in the Schedule to this Order shall

apply to all employees in respect of whom the Canning Industry

Wages Council operates.

The minimum weekly remuneration payable to whole-time

employees, both males and females, shall be the following -

(a) watchmen ................................................ €229.44

(b) other employees aged

(i) 18 years or over ............................... €229.44

(ii) 17 years ........................................... €222.66

(iii) 16 years ........................................... €219.82

Whole-time employees, other than watchmen, shall be

allowed intervals for meals and rest of not less than, in the

aggregate, one hour every day.

Whole-time employees shall be allowed a weekly day of

rest in every period of seven consecutive days.

(1) In the case of whole-time employees, other than

watchmen, overtime shall be payable as follows

(a) for all time worked in excess of forty hours in any

week, exclusive of any time paid for at overtime

rates .................................................. time-and-a-half;

(b) in a five-day week, for all time worked in excess of

eight hours on any day ...................... time-and-a-half;

(c) in a six-day week, for all time worked in excess of

seven hours from Monday to Friday, and five hours on

Saturday ........................................... time-and-a-half;

(d) for all time worked on Sundays and customary

holidays .................................................. double time

Provided that in any week which includes a customary

holiday, overtime at time-and-a-half shall be payable for work, in

excess of thirty-three hours, exclusive of time paid for at overtime

rates, to whole-time employees other than watchmen.

(2) Overtime at the rate of time-and-a-half shall be payable to

watchmen for all time worked in excess of sixty hours in a period

of six consecutive days, and for all time worked on the seventh day.

(1) In addition to the minimum weekly rest to which

whole-time employees may be entitled under paragraph 5, whole-

time employees shall be entitled to the national holidays and to all

public holidays with full pay, and to the following vacation leave

not being less than:-

(a) four working weeks and one working day during the

calendar years 1988 and 1989;

(b) four working weeks and two working days during the

calendar year, 1990;

(c) four working weeks and three working days during the

calendar year, 1991;

(d) four working weeks and four working days during the

calendar year 1992 and during any calendar year

thereafter

Provided that when a whole-time employee is in

employment for less than twelve months during any calendar year,

he shall be entitled to such part of the said vacation leave as is in

proportion to the number of months in employment.

(2) For the purpose of this paragraph "vacation leave" means

leave with pay which may be availed of on days agreed upon

between the employer and the employee, provided that one day

vacation leave during 1988 and 1989, two days vacation leave

during 1990, three days vacation leave during 1991, and four days

vacation leave during 1992 and during any calendar year thereafter

shall not form part of any shut-down and shall be granted by the

employer as optional leave in addition to any optional leave the

employee may have been entitled to on the 9th November, 1988.

(1) A whole-time employee shall in every calendar year be

entitled to the equivalent in hours of twelve days sick leave on full

pay, less an amount equal to the sum set for sickness benefit

entitlement at the rate established under the Social Security Act,

and part time employees shall have a pro rata entitlement to sick

leave in hours on full pay, less an amount equal to the sum set for

sickness benefit entitlement at the rate established under the Social

Security Act, which amount is also to be calculated on a pro rata

basis

Provided that -

(a) the first three days of any claim for sick leave shall be

paid in full by the employer;

(b) a medical certificate covering the period of absence is

produced to the employer on the day of return to work

or, if such period of absence is longer than seven days,

within seven days of the onset of sick leave absence;

(c) employees in receipt of a social security pension in

respect of retirement or widowhood in terms of the

Social Security Act shall, for the purpose of

calculating the sick leave pay due, be deemed to have

received an amount equal to the sum set for sickness

benefit entitlement at the rate established under the

Social Security Act.

(2) A whole-time employee shall in every calendar year be

entitled to the equivalent in hours of a further twenty-four days sick

leave on half pay, less an amount equal to half the sum set for

sickness benefit entitlement at the rate established under the Social

Security Act, and part time employees shall have a pro rata

entitlement to sick leave in hours on half pay, less an amount equal

to half the sum set for sickness benefit entitlement at the rate

established under the Social Security Act, which amount is also to

be calculated on a pro rata basis

Provided that -

(a) the first three days of any claim for sick leave shall be

paid at half pay by the employer;

(b) a medical certificate covering the period of absence is

produced to the employer on the day of return to work

or, if such period of absence is longer than seven days,

within seven days of the onset of sick leave absence;

(c) employees in receipt of a social security pension in

respect of retirement or widowhood in terms of the

Social Security Act shall, for the purpose of

calculating the sick leave pay due, be deemed to have

received an amount equal to half the sum set for

sickness benefit entitlement at the rate established

under the Social Security Act.

(3) Employees employed for a lesser period than one year shall

be entitled to sick leave in proportion to the number of months in

employment.

(4) The employer may require a medical certificate by his own

physician to certify incapacity for work during the period of

absence.

(5) The sick leave entitlement granted by virtue of this

paragraph shall be calculated on the basis provided for annual leave

as specified in regulation 8(1) of the Organisation of Working Time

Regulations.

A whole-time employee shall be entitled to a maximum of

one year injury leave on full pay, less the full amount of any injury

benefit to which such employee may be entitled in terms of the

Social Security Act, if he is injured during the actual discharge of

his duty and such injury is not due to contributory negligence on

his part or to the contravention by him of any safety rules laid down

by the management.

Whole-time employees shall be allowed two days paid

leave on the occasion of the death of any of the following relatives

the wife, husband, mother, father, (or the person who at the time

was in fact acting as the mother or father of the employee), the son,

daughter, brother or sister.

Whole-time employees shall be allowed three working

days paid leave on the occasion of their marriage and one working

day paid leave on the occasion of the birth of a child to their wife.

All employees called for jury service shall be allowed the

necessary time off without loss of pay to attend the Courts.

Part-time employees shall be paid pro rata at an hourly rate

not less than that applicable to whole-time employees, namely the

appropriate rate per week shown in paragraph 3 of this Schedule

divided by sixty in the case of watchmen, and divided by forty in

the case of other employees.

An employee shall be entitled to the payment of the

minimum remuneration applicable to him for all time during which

he is present on the premises of his employer or in any other place

in connection with his employment unless he is present thereon in

any of the following circumstances

(a) without the employer’s consent, expressed or implied;

(b) for some purpose unconnected with his work and other

than that of waiting for work to be given to him to

perform;

(c) by reason only of the fact that he is resident thereon;

(d) during normal meal times in a room or place in which

no work is being done, and he is not waiting for work

to be given to him to perform.

In cases where the retiring age of a male employee is

expected at the age of sixty years, such employee shall be given the

opportunity by his employer to retain his employment beyond this

age at least until the age of sixty-one years, provided that the

employee in question shall still be allowed, if he so wishes, to retire

at the age of sixty years.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the order but is intended to indicate its

applicability).

The provisions in the above Schedule shall apply to all

CANNING INDUSTRY WAGES COUNCIL

WAGE REGULATION

employees in any undertaking or in any part of an undertaking the

activities of which consist wholly or mainly of the following

(a) canning and preserving, including packing in airtight

containers, of fruits, vegetables, and fruit and

vegetable juices; dehydrating and quick freezing of

fruits and vegetables; and any other process incidental

thereto;

(b) manufacture of preserves, jams, jellies, pickles,

sauces, or canned soups, including the canning and

preserving of meat, meat products and any other form

of meat processing; and the manufacture of ice;

(c) canning and preserving of fish and other sea foods,

including salting, drying, smoking, curing, pickling,

dehydrating, packing in air-tight containers, quick-

freezing and any other form of processing;

(d) cold storage of fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and other

foods.