Date Released: 16 October 2020 SIPTU members in Premier Periclase Ltd in Drogheda, county Louth, have today (Friday, 16th October) voted to accept proposals contained in a Labour Court recommendation and bring to an end a long running strike at the magnesium production plant. SIPTU Sector Organiser, John Regan, said: “The main issues in this dispute, which resulted in a nine week strike by SIPTU members, was a refusal by management to continue to pay workers who were on sick leave in line with an agreed sick pay scheme and its unilateral decision to shut down the plant for four weeks in June. […]

16th October 2020 Despite the limitations on lobbying in person ahead of Budget day this year, INTO members successfully made the case for primary education in a series of virtual meetings with politicians across the political sphere. Alongside a robust online lobby, members supported a strong digital advocacy campaign, which saw in just three short weeks, members, parents and the wider community generate a whopping 20,000 emails to public representatives the length and breadth of the country. In every constituency of Ireland, TDs’ and Senators’ inboxes were filled with correspondence calling for lower class sizes. The Budget provided significant gains for our schools, school leaders, teachers and […]

Fórsa is preparing for the possibility of industrial action at the Oberstown youth detention centre following the placement of a young female detainee into a new mixed-gender unit. The union’s Irish Youth Justice branch has expressed grave concerns over the establishment of a mixed-gender-unit at Oberstown, and cites the incident as further evidence that management at Oberstown is failing to engage or consult with the union on operational matters. Fórsa official Seán McElhinney explained: “The union was not consulted on the policy and we are now conducting an indicative ballot of members at the Oberstown campus. The early indications are […]

Thursday 15 October 2020 Mandate Trade Union has said this morning’s attempts by representatives of the Debenhams liquidators, KPMG, to pack or remove stock has outraged the striking workers across the country. Yesterday KPMG offered a “commitment to notify Mandate at least two hours in advance of the times, and which stores, the Liquidators intend to enter for either the delivery of packing materials or removal of stock.” This morning men in dark clothing with their faces covered arrived at the store and intimidated a grandmother on the picket line. Gerry Light, Mandate General Secretary said: “When we were informed […]

What is the 1990 industrial relations act? Debenhams workers have been charged for alleged breaches to the 1990 Industrial Relations Act This is the state acting to break their resistance. Next step, the heavy gang, the enforcers of the injunctions, the private balaclava security firm, backed up by the state, the Gardaí The 1990 act is the worst dilution of workers’ rights in the history of this state it gives all the power to employers & decimates workers’ power. The 1990 act is the state attacking workers’ rights, the citizens, in favour of business rights, the ruling class. “Government in […]

SIPTU calls for mandatory sick pay scheme to cover full income of ill workers Date Released: 09 October 2020 SIPTU economist, Michael Taft, has called for the introduction of a mandatory sick pay scheme which ensures that workers receive their full income while they are out of work due to illness. Speaking at a Webinar entitled ‘Healing our Sick Pay System’ and hosted by SIPTU, he said: “A mandatory sick pay scheme must be available for all workers regardless of the sector or company in which they work. Payments from the scheme should cover their full income while they are […]

The Covid-19 pandemic has not been experienced by everyone equally.  As always, working people have been hardest hit, not only by the virus itself – which has been allowed to run rampant in settings such as meat processing plants – but also by the financial consequences of the associated restrictions.  It has become increasingly clear that we are not ‘all in this together’, and elements on the far right are now seeking to exploit public fears and anger to divide workers.   Forward Together is a new alliance of community activists, trade unionists, elected representatives and concerned individuals working together […]

SIPTU Deputy General Secretary, Gerry McCormack, has said that robust and comprehensive legislation to grant collective bargaining rights to workers in Ireland is urgent, particularly in light of the Covid-19 crisis and Brexit. He said: “The Covid-19 crisis and the threat of a ‘no deal’ Brexit have reinforced the urgent need for legislation to grant collective bargaining rights to workers in Ireland. The Covid-19 crisis has disproportionately affected the lives of mainly younger, precarious workers across the hospitality, tourism, retail and other low paid employments in the services sector of the economy. “A ‘no deal’ Brexit will also affect tens […]

Fórsa welcomes ‘breakthrough moment in a decades-long inequality’ and says early progress essential to avert planned industrial action Fórsa trade union, which represents more than 1,000 school secretaries in primary and secondary schools nationwide, has welcomed comments made in the Dáil today (Thursday) by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, confirming the current Government’s objective to regularise employment, terms, conditions and pension rights for school secretaries. The comments come the day after the union confirmed it would serve notice of industrial action next week to over 1,000 individual schools and the Department of Education and Skills (DES). The continuing dispute with the DES is due to a […]

Thursday 8 October 2020 Mandate Trade Union has said the joint liquidators of Debenhams, KPMG, in seeking High Court injunctions against three striking workers who are demanding the implementation of their agreed redundancy package was both regrettable and totally avoidable. Mandate General Secretary Gerry Light said these workers are law-abiding and are simply demanding what is owed to them. “It should never have come to this. These workers should have had the protections of the law, but sadly our government refused to back the Debenhams workers and now they’re being intimidated by means of High Court injunctions. “If the government […]