A dispute between Belco management and staff has been sent to arbitration by the Minister of Economy and Labour.

In a notice posted on the Official Gazette yesterday, Jason Hayward said that he was referring the labour dispute to the Employment and Labour Relations Tribunal for settlement.

The Electricity Supply Trade Union, which represents the electricity supplier’s industrial and administrative employees, did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.

Mr Hayward also failed to respond to requests for comment.

Wayne Caines, the president of Belco, said: “Belco’s dispute with the ESTU has been referred to the Employment and Labour Relations Tribunal by the Minister of Economy and Labour.

“I am optimistic that the tribunal’s decision on these issues will enable us to continue to work together to provide a reliable supply of electricity.

“Belco’s legacy is built on a valued workforce and a customer-centric approach, and those guiding principles will not waver.

“While this tribunal is ongoing, we will respect the confidentiality of the parties involved and will not seek to resolve this matter through the press.“

Mr Hayward’s notice pointed out that any industrial action taken while the dispute is in arbitration would be unlawful.

The notice said: “In accordance with Section 87 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 2021, after the publication of this notice, any lockout, strike or irregular industrial action short of a strike is unlawful and any person who takes part in, incites or in any way encourages, persuades or influences any person to take part in, or otherwise acts in furtherance of, a lockout, strike or irregular industrial action short of a strike that is unlawful under this section shall be liable to a civil penalty as may be imposed by the Employment and Labour Relations Tribunal.”

The Royal Gazettereported last month that Belco had “identified certain areas for restructuring” and was engaged with the ESTU about the proposed changes in line with consultation requirements outlined in the Employment Act 2000.

The Act requires that employers inform and consult with employees and their representatives, unions or otherwise, on proposed redundancies 14 days before giving the employee notice in writing that they are being made redundant.

At the time, it was understood that some staff at the power company had been sent notices stating that their positions were under consideration for redundancy while some employees were offered early retirement.

The ESTU executive said on June 10 that it had been in discussions with Belco about austerity measures being considered, including redundancies.

However, the union added then that the company had taken steps to “disengage from that dialogue”.

Its statement went on: “We firmly believe that there are alternative solutions that can be explored before resorting to redundancies and we have outlined this to the company.

“Importantly, we do not believe that there is a shared sacrifice across the company. Belco continues to make a profit and continues to award management bonuses.”

• UPDATE: this article has been updated with information reported earlier