Aramark staff mount unofficial picket after receiving week’s notice of job loss

Aramark staff mount unofficial picket after receiving week’s notice of job loss see report from the Irish Times    Catering staff at the former Allied Irish Bank (AIB) headquarters in Ballsbridge, Dublin say they were “dumped after years of loyalty” when given just a week’s notice earlier this month that their “jobs were gone”. Kitchen and restaurant staff, who remained working at the restaurant after AIB moved most of its workforce to a new headquarters in the city-centre in 2019, have mounted an unofficial picket at the site. While their union Siptu says 12 members are involved, their employer Aramark say only eight are involved in […]

Estee Lauder workers in Dublin Airport to strike on Monday, 21st and Friday, 25th September

Estee Lauder workers in Dublin Airport are to participate in two days of industrial action this week as they attempt to prevent compulsory redundancies and stop the company rehiring workers on inferior terms and conditions of employment. The strike will involve 40 workers and will take place from 5am on Monday 21st and then Friday 25th of September at the Dublin Airport roundabout. Mandate say workers should be afforded the principle of voluntary rather than compulsory redundancy but the terms of the redundancy package must be negotiated including the selection criteria. The Union also wishes to negotiate the terms & conditions of […]

Working from home: Beware

The World Federation of Trade Unions, the, the world’s class-oriented, progressive trade union movement, considers the achievements of technology to be very important and positive, given that they are used to improve and facilitate the lives of workers and the peoples, such as in modern health care, improved working conditions in the workplaces etc.    Tele-working, working from home, which increased greatly during the COVID-19 Pandemic in all countries, could be considered as one of the achievements of progress and technology.     However, tele-working had a negative effect on the working conditions of the workers, such as the increase of […]

ASTI to ballot on industrial action

19 September 2020 met today and decided to ballot its members in relation to a number of key issues which have emerged since schools re-opened.   The meeting heard that ASTI members have serious concerns about the health and safety of school communities. Issues raised include:   Physical distancing in schools Provision of PPE The definition of close contacts Comprehensive testing and testing turnaround times Provisions for high risk teachers IT resources for students and teachers to facilitate remote teaching/ learning   “The fact that high risk teachers have been asked to work in crowded classroom is unacceptable to us […]

Congress demands “action not sympathy” for Debenhams workers

16 Sep 2020 THE Executive Council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has reiterated its full support for the official strike action by Debenhams workers, members of Mandate trade union. Congress is demanding Government intervention to break the deadlock in the dispute. Gerry Light, General Secretary, Mandate updated Council members on the ongoing dispute at its meeting today. Mandate Trade Union had negotiated a redundancy package for Debenhams staff in 2016 which included four weeks’ pay per year of service. However, when the company entered liquidation earlier this year, the liquidator reported that there were no assets to pay […]

Review of Adult Critical Care Services in the Twenty Six Counties

Further to a letter in today Irish Times. Trade Union Left Forum have a copy of the report in a review of Adult Critical Care Services from 2009 and now over eleven years it is a damming inditement of various governments in relation our people’s health care.    In the letter from the Irish Times today Thursday 17th Nov 2020 the letter writer ( an intensive-care consultant states the following) It is ironic and instructive to reflect on a report commissioned by the then-government in 2008 from management consultants Prospectus. Completed in 2009, it defined existing and anticipated ICU bed […]

“Patients are on chairs” – 80 go without beds in Limerick today.

“Patients are on chairs” – 80 go without beds in Limerick today       80 admitted patients are without beds in University Hospital Limerick today – with more than 12 being cared for on chairs overnight, without even a trolley. See here for full figures.   This is the highest figure recorded in an Irish hospital since the COVID-19 restrictions began.    The INMO has called for urgent intervention from the Minister for Health, with the immediate appointment of an external crisis management team to oversee governance at the hospital. This team would set out a clear plan to:   – […]

Pharmacists back new career structure proposals- Forsa News

Hospital pharmacist members working in acute hospitals have backed a range of proposals to revise career structures in a ballot of members. The ballot passed by just over 67% on a turnout of 65%.  Fórsa official Catherine Keogh said the proposals backed by members contain significant and immediate gains for hospital pharmacists. These include a shorter pay scale, an enhanced career structure, additional specialist and new senior posts, in addition to greater protections on the issue of weekend services, out of hours and extended working days. Fórsa’s  ballot follows a WRC conciliation process that sought to implement the 2011 McLoughlin […]

SIPTU calls for urgent restoration of mass Covid-19 testing in meat industry

SIPTU Divisional Organiser, Greg Ennis, has called for the immediate recommencement of Covid-19 testing for workers in the meat processing industry. He said: “We are extremely concerned that serial testing in meat plants has been halted by the HSE. SIPTU representatives were calling for mass testing of workers across the industry for months before it was finally commenced on 21st August. It has now emerged that the HSE has withdrawn from the meat processing plants since 8th September without providing any advance notice of its decision to workers, their union or to public representatives in the Oireachtas. “There have been […]

Online training for School Stewards

11 September 2020 School Steward online training dates are Tuesday 6th, 13th and 20th October. Open to all School Stewards and are particularly helpful for newly elected Stewards.  Participants will receive comprehensive e-packs in advance with links to information and videos on key aspects of the role.  The emphasis in the training is on responding to current issues in your school and how best to represent your colleagues.  Substitution is provided by the ASTI.  Issues covered are: role of the school steward contracts leave for teachers disciplinary and grievance procedures conducting school ballots update on national issues To register, contact Eileen at Eileen@asti.ie News […]