ESB unions prepare for ballot on industrial action

ESB unions are preparing to ballot for industrial action next month in an effort to persuade Energy Minister Eamon Ryan to halt the transfer of ownership of the national transmission grid to private company EirGrid, a move which could essentially set the ESB up for privatisation.
The proposed transfer of assets will put management and unions into conflict, with the unions arguing that the ‘partnership’ agreements that they went into are still valid commitments until they are replaced.
The proposed transfer is portrayed as a vehicle to promote successful competition and therefore cheaper electricity for the consumer. However, it has been shown by the ATGWU that hikes in electricity prices have been caused by the Irish Government artificially increasing prices to encourage private electricity suppliers into the market while simultaneously blaming ‘labour costs’ - a claim which has no substance to it. 

Irish Times photographers get 5.43 per cent pay rise

PHOTOGRAPHERS represented by the National Union of Journalists at The Irish Times have received a 5.43 per cent pay increase negotiated by their union.
The NUJ have a comprehensive agreement with the paper which photographers were covered by although they had a separate pay structure. Under the terms of the social partnership agreements, claims cannot be lodged for pay increases but the union managed to convince the paper that they should be paid under the same agreement as writers.
Michelle Stanistreet, President of the NUJ, said:
“The union continues to show that where we are strong and well-organised we can make a real difference to members’ pay, be they writers, subs or photographers.”

Fears for Aer Lingus’s future in Shannon

THE Shannon Action Group, an Aer Lingus employee-based group, has said it is more convinced than ever that the company plans to pull out of its Shannon operation altogether.
This comes after a conversation overheard among Aer Lingus managers on a flight last January were relayed by the group to the public. Geraldine Morrissey, a member of the Shannon Action Group, said that the comments have been reconsidered in light of the company’s Belfast move.
“Staff members have heard members of the management team discussing the need to pull out of Shannon as quickly as possible. They made the comments on board an aircraft when they thought they were out of ear-shot,” Morrissey said.
The Shannon Action Group is calling on the Irish Government to use its shareholding to reverse the company’s decision to withdraw.

Union hosts Polish opposition party leader

SIPTU this week hosts a visit by Donald Tusk, the leader of a Polish opposition party, Platforma Obywatelska (PO), to meet Polish workers in Ireland.
The campaigns organiser for SIPTU, Anne Speed, said:
“We hope that by inviting Mr Tusk to Liberty Hall that we will get to hear first-hand the stories of Polish workers in Ireland, many of whom are being exploited by unscrupulous employers. SIPTU encourages migrant workers to join trade unions to protect their rights.”
Anne Speed also outlined the union’s disappointment at the state’s failure to provide legislation for the equal treatment of agency workers in pay and conditions and employment status. This comes the same week as speakers at the Trinity Immigration Initiative in Dublin outlined how as few as 14 per cent of migrant workers are members of trade unions.

• Mr Tusk will be available to speak to Polish workers in Liberty Hall this Saturday, 29th September, between 7pm and 10.30pm.