18 February 2010 Edition

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Nuacht na nOibrithe

Dublin MTL dockers’ strike back on from Monday

Employers reject arbitration ruling

DOCKERS at Ireland’s busiest container terminal will go back on strike on 22 February after negotiations over redundancies and working conditions broke down when Marine Terminals Ltd (MTL), owned by Peel Ports in Britain, indicated it would not abide by an arbitrators’ ruling after an 111-day strike.
Arbitrator Finbarr Flood had been tasked with resolving the differences between workers’ union SIPTU and the MTL management.
MTL  has now rejected his recommendations.
Flood outlined three areas where the two parties disagreed and ruled that both sides should abide by court recommendations on severance packages, that the company needs 30 workers and that the “agreed” selection criteria for compulsory redundancies be implemented.
The previous strike, over the same issues, began last July, lasted 111 days and only ended after a resolution was brokered by the Labour Court
For more information on this dispute or to leave messages of support, go to: http://www.mtldockers.com/index.html

 

SIPTU launches campaign to protect low-paid workers

SIPTU has launched a campaign to resist attempts to cut the minimum wage.
SIPTU Divisional Organiser Patricia King warned the Government and employers that cutting the pay and conditions of workers on minimum wage rates will only worsen the economic situation and make life intolerable for over 300,000 people in sectors such as agriculture, catering, contract cleaning, hairdressing, hotels, retailing and the security industry.
She said that organisations such as ISME and the Small Firms Association were lobbying for cuts of €1 an hour in the current rate of €8.65. The rate had not been increased since 2007 and had already been subjected to Government levies that had reduced it to €8.48.
“People on these rates are already experiencing increases in the cost of living due to rises in items such as health and public transport.
“In areas such as hairdressing and hospital cleaning they have to attain a high level of skills to qualify for the minimum rate in the first place. It takes four years to qualify as a hairdresser, yet some employers want to reduce the rates of workers who finally qualify.”
The Head of SIPTU’s Legal Rights Unit, Michael Halpenny, said that the new legislation had not been thought through. There was an ‘inability to pay’ section in the existing Act that allowed employers in difficulty to seek exemption from the national minimum wage but it had never been invoked by an employer.
“The new legislation will allow bad employers to undercut good employers for contracts and force down the rate for everyone”, he said.
He added that the sectors calling loudest for cuts were hotels and catering, which were also the sectors where there was the highest level of non-compliance with the existing legislation.

 

Unions press Government for talks about axed Community Development Projects

SIPTU and IMPACT have called on the Government to enter direct talks at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) about the recent closure of 14 Community Development Projects (CDPs).
The projects, all but one of which are based in Dublin, employ community workers and provide essential services to the most vulnerable sections of the population.
In 2009, following an internal review of community projects across the state, the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (DCRGA) removed its funding of 29 projects, forcing their closure and the loss of dozens of jobs.
While 10 projects successfully appealed the removal of funding, 14 were informed in recent weeks that their appeals had been rejected by the DCRGA.
The trade unions representing community workers, SIPTU and IMPACT, have now called on the department, as the employer of those who have lost their jobs, to enter immediate and direct discussions at the LRC.
According to SIPTU’s Community Sector Branch Organiser, Gerry Flanagan, the review process that resulted in the closure of the 14 projects was “deeply flawed and biased”.
“Since 1 February, the workers in these 14 CDPs have been left in limbo following the withdrawal by the department of their primary funding.
“They face the loss of their livelihoods while the most vulnerable communities have lost vital services as the result of a deeply flawed and biased review process.”
SIPTU General President Jack O’Connor called on the Government to use the established industrial relations machinery of the state and engage with the representatives of the community sector workers.

 

Gardaí vote for industrial action

RANK-AND-FILE gardaí have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action short of strike action over Government attacks on pensions and wages.
The Garda Representative Association said a ballot of members showed that 93% voted for some form of industrial action but not to withdraw their services so as not to impinge on public safety.


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