In 2000, the Labour Court recommended that Carton Bros staff working in the cutting area accept a £1,200 payment as reasonable. The recommendation, dated 25 July 2000, followed a dispute over staffing after throughput restrictions at the Shercock plant. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union sought investment to retain 32 full-time positions in Shercock. Carton Bros said overcoming the restriction would require more than £300,000 in investment, which it could not fund. A previous proposal for £1,200 gross to permanent employees in the area had been rejected by workers. The Court cited the restriction and the company's inability to make the investment needed to overcome it.