27 November 2008 Edition

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Nuacht na nOibrithe

Subway sacks pregnant worker

AN ONLINE campaign has begun to help a young pregnant worker who was sacked by her employer.
Natalia Szymanska was working in food outlet Subway in Belfast and was let go after the company claimed she breached a health and safety policy by having her partner, another Subway employee, collect her from the shop when her shift had finished.
Natalia believes she was sacked because she is pregnant.
The managing director of Subway said in a letter to her that the only personnel allowed onto the premises are staff on duty at that time, although Natalia has said that other senior managers were aware that her partner would escort her home as he was concerned for her safety while she’s pregnant.

• An online petition is available at http://www.petitiononline.com/subway1/petition.html

 

CIE may let 400 workers go

IT IS believed that hundreds of jobs may be lost in CIE as the company faces losses of €131m next year.
Management of CIE is considering redundancies at Bus Éireann and withdrawing some services, garage closures and pay freezes to cope with the losses. A spokesperson for the state transport body this week confirmed that a review of the company finances was being conducted and they were looking at “all aspects of the customer base to see where savings can be made” in order to save €45m a year.
It is believed that some of the measures being considered include withdrawing 100 buses in Dublin, and 170 Bus Éireann buses, letting 400 Bus Éireann staff go and cancelling numerous services. SIPTU is currently seeking a meeting with managers to discuss any plans they may have.

 

Pay block could provoke strike action

TECHNICAL, Engineering and Electrical Union General Secretary Owen Wills has said that action will be taken against employers who refuse to adhere to legally-binding Registered Employment Agreements (REAs).
His comments came in the wake of claims by the Construction Industry Federation that its members cannot afford to pay wages according to the new state-wide pay deal.
Wills spoke at his union’s conference over the weekend and suggested that a major strike in solidarity with other unions may be necessary. He said that REAs have brought stability to industry but their constitutionality is being challenged by contractors who wish to source electricians at €8.65 an hour and remove pensions and sick pay schemes.
The TEEU has also called for a freeze on evictions from family homes this week after figures emerged that a quarter of all cases before the High Court Chancery Division last week were for repossessions.

 

Nurses’ work-to-rule ends

A work-to-rule protest at Portiuncula Hospital in Galway has ended as the Irish Nurses’ Organisation reached an agreement with the National Hospitals Office and the HSE.
INO members had refused to answer phones and conduct certain IT duties during the ten-week-long dispute.


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