Union rep locked in office wins case

A TRADE UNION representative has won €1,000 in damages against a Dublin Bus manager within the company who locked him in his office.
David McMorrow outlined to the Circuit Civil Court that after he approached administration manager Martin Connolly on the issue of workers parking cars and blocking buses, Connolly left the office with McMorrow inside and locked the door.
Judge Alison Lindsay said she did not think either party would have been in court if Dublin Bus had a proper system for dealing with disputes.

Argos dispute set to continue

INDUSTRIAL action will pick up again on December 18 when Argos staff at various stores in the 26 Counties stage pickets for a second time in a bid to get a 10 per cent pay rise of 97 cent. During the employees’ last picket on 1 December, Argos management flew in scab labour from their British stores and, according to the Mandate trade union, they paid for the flights and accommodation of the scabs and as well as giving them double-time for their trouble.
This action is unsurprisingly said to have angered the staff greatly and it is unclear at this point whether it will be repeated. However, the union will be calling on Christmas shoppers to show solidarity by not crossing the picket line. 

Resolution of postal dispute possible

THE long-running postal dispute in the Six Counties may be at an end if Royal Mail delivers on settlement promises made.
The Communications Workers’ Union has agreed a deal with Royal Mail in the past week on pay (including a pay rise) and working conditions which has been supported by a 64 per cent majority in a union ballot.
Lawrence Huston, Regional Secretary of the CWU, said:
“How these measures are introduced will be crucial to the long-term success or failure of the agreement.” He went on to say that any railroading tactics by the management of Royal Mail would not be tolerated.

2,387 lost jobs in November

GOVERNMENT figures show that 2,387 workers were laid off in the 26 Counties in November, 15 per cent above the corresponding figure for November 2006.
The redundancy statistics only deal with redundancies completed during that month and excludes those only announced and incomplete, leaving the real figure of redundancies potentially much higher. The figures do not list which employers or sectors made these workers redundant.
In total, 23,761 people lost their jobs in the 26 Counties up to the end of November.

100th anniversary of Chilean workers’ massacre

NEXT WEEK marks the 100th anniversary of the murder of thousands of workers in Chile.
The massacre of the Santa Maria de Inquique School in 1907 was covered up by the Chilean Government for decades afterwards, according to Juan Manuel Diaz of the United Federation of Workers.
Saltpetre companies in 1907 Chile were mainly foreign-owned. Around 7,000 workers had gathered in Inquique in solidarity with the strike, with 5,000 occupying the Santa Maria School. Troops opened fire, leaving approximately 2,000 dead.
Over 300 initiatives worldwide are taking place in memory of the massacre. It is also hoped that Inquique will come to a standstill on 21 December. Cars will sound their horns, ambulances and fire engines will turn on their sirens and the bells will ring out in churches and in schools.