Fine Gael will slash 100,000 jobs and dole

FINE GAEL is boasting that they would cut public sector pay, slash all dole payments and sack 10,000 public servants as part of its Budget plans.
Dublin TD and Finance spokesperson Richard Bruton said that Fine Gael in government would slice €1.2 billion off the public service pay bill and another €500 million saved by making 10,000 public service workers redundant.
Without showing any traces of irony, Richard Bruton also said Fine Gael’s approach to solving the public finances was fair at all levels and the main focus was getting people back to work.

Aer Lingus to jettison 1,000 staff

UNIONS at Aer Lingus are expected to ballot members on alternatives to the airline’s cost-cutting plan that involves 1,000 people being sacked – more than a quarter of the carrier’s 3,700 workforce.
Aer Lingus says it wants to reduce its cost base by €100 million next year.
Trade unions SIPTU and IMPACT (representing mainly cabin crew) are in ongoing moves to avert the jobs crisis at Ireland’s national airline.
The airline last week accepted fresh cost-cutting proposals from cabin crew but added the condition that those proposals cannot be implemented unless it reaches an agreement with its 470 pilots.

222 drivers off the buses 

BUS ÉIREANN wants 222 drivers to voluntarily get off the bus as part of its plans to stop or reduce 99 routes in the New Year.
The  Labour Court has largely backed its proposals but agreed with a demand by SIPTU and the National Bus & Rail Union that any redundancies be voluntary, not compulsory.
The Labour Court additionally recommended that the company dropped proposed cuts in workers’ shift and rota rates.

National Irish Bank wants 150 jobs cuts

NATIONAL Irish Bank wants150 voluntary redundancies from its 700 staff as part of a restructuring plan to be completed by 2011.
The move will see 25 of the bank’s 58 branches close and merged into neighbouring branches. The bank says it is working with the Irish Bank Officials’ Association and other staff representative bodies regarding the changes and details of the scheme.

Éircom chief’s call to cut jobs

ÉIRCOM Chief Executive Paul Donovan has threatened “headcount reductions” in the coming months as “we accelerate our efforts” to reduce its workforce by 1,200 on top of the 700 that have already left the business.
Staff were also told that overtime will be reduced and only used in “exceptional circumstances”.
The announcement was made last week as part of a comprehensive package of cost-cutting measures.