The Labour Court recommended a 39-month wage agreement for Abbott Ireland and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union, including a 1% increase to the company’s pay offer and a 35% improvement in VHI contributions. The recommendation was dated 12 October 1999. The dispute concerned a new agreement affecting 700 workers at Abbott Ireland’s Ballytivnan plant in Co Sligo. The union sought higher pay and full VHI cover for workers and their families; the company had offered an 11% pay increase over three years and a 33% increase in its VHI subsidy. The Court also recommended that the union could reopen the VHI contribution issue if exceptional, unforeseen increases in cover costs arose during the agreement.