Other News

Search: Print this article E-mail this article Other News Former Apprentice Boy addresses republican ex-prisoner event Shell to Sea protest at Norwegian Embassy IFA try to block Northerners playing for Irish soccer team Ritchie challenged over Executive discussion claims Wexford to honour Spanish Civil War hero Follow up meeting with PSNI on Apprentice Boys Derry Parade Education dispute : Sinn Féin 100% behind classroom assistants Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown housing crisis Call for retention of Longford cottage used by IRA Canadian tourist told Derry did not exist A quiet day for Leinster Ógra! Drogheda Ógra demand recreational facilities for youth Weekend of commemorative events in Derry's Creggan Fógraí bháis Sign up to receive news from An Phoblacht. Enter your e-mail address: Privacy policy

Nuacht na nOibrithe

Aer Lingus Pilots call off strike

It emerged over the weekend that Aer Lingus had plans to hire planes from Ryanair to cover a 48 hour strike planned by pilots during this week. Aer Lingus management confirmed reports that they would lease two aircraft alongside Ryanair crew to cover the work stoppage. 500 pilots were due to strike over the Aer Lingus plans to pay staff in the Six Counties less than their southern counterparts. It has also been reported that this may be problematic in that some Ryanair pilots belong to the Irish Airline Pilots Association, the same union as those who fly for Aer Lingus.
On Monday evening Aer Lingus pilots offered to call off their strike if the company agreed to attend discussions chaired by the Labour Relations Commission, which the airline Chief Executive Dermot Mannion agreed to saying that he would “welcome an urgent start and conclusion to the process”.

Bank workers vote for strike

Irish Bank Officials’ Association (IBOA) in HP who work on a Bank of Ireland account have this week voted in favour of striking as a result of a pay dispute. Some measures of industrial action will begin next week which include a ban on overtime, call-out and out-of-hours support which may have serious implications for the Bank of Ireland.
The dispute has arisen since Bank of Ireland outsourced 150 of its workers to HP in 2003. HP have recently refused to improve on pay proposals put to its members.
Larry Broderick, the general secretary of the IBOA said: “This issue is fundamentally about HP’s failure to honour agreements with the IBOA and, in particular, the refusal to give our members a reasonable salary increase for 2006/2007. The IBOA has a mandate for all-out strike but the IBOA HP committee has proposed initially limited industrial action to commence next week in the hope that HP would respond positively to the genuine concerns of our members.”
Broderick further mentioned, “The IBOA is particularly concerned that HP has refused to use the normal industrial relations procedure to deal with this issue leaving IBOA and out members no option but to take this course of action.”

Weatherglaze workers take action

Workers in the Gorey Weatherglaze plant this week downed tools in support of a colleague who had been dismissed from working at the plant. The worker who had been employed with the company for over 24 years was let go and the other workers said that they felt that their colleague had been treated differently and singled out unnecessarily prior to his dismissal. A meeting subsequently took place between Weatherglaze management, union representatives and the Labour Relations Commission in an effort to resolve the dispute.
Michael Wall, SIPTU Organiser in Wexford said, “The entire workforce shares the view that this staff member was victimised and that the dismissal was unfair. At this stage no agreement has been reached despite lengthy negotiations.

30 jobs to be lost at Killeen in Ballyfermot

Management of the Smurfit Kappa owned Killeen Corrugated Products plant in Ballyfermot, Dublin have this week revealed that 30 jobs are to be lost with the remaining 25 workers to be redeployed after a fall in business from major customers. An official from SIPTU, Pat Ward, who represents the employees, said that workers had been told by management that the closure followed a downturn in business from major customers such as C&C and that the announcement had “come as a shock” to workers and they will be looking for improved redundancy packages.

Articles may not be reproduced without the consent of An Phoblacht. For further information, please contact