Date Released: 15 April 2021 SIPTU representatives have today (Thursday, 15th April) written to the Minister of State with responsibility for Social Inclusion in the Department of Social Protection, Joe O’Brien, seeking a firm commitment to support the campaign to halt government plans to privatise community job activation services. SIPTU Sector Organiser, Jane Boushell, said: “The Minister’s contribution to the Social Inclusion Forum this week, his proposal for a solidarity tax and his many public statements about creating greater inclusion in communities by reducing the consistent poverty rate to 2% or less by 2025 are very much welcomed by SIPTU members. “However, […]

Let’s win our rights as workers together On March 30th the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Leo Varadkar, announced, as he does like to, the setting up of a High-level Working Group under the auspices of the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) to review collective bargaining and the industrial relations landscape in Ireland. This review body will be chaired by Professor Michael Doherty, of Maynooth University. For those interested Michael delivered an education meeting for the TULF on a critical assessment of ‘social partnership’ during the summer of 2020. A podcast version can be heard here . What is […]

Alitalia 11.000 workers are fighting on these days to save their jobs and their family against the landing of the company caused by the final exploitation of the italian market wanted by UE commission and supported by actual italian government. Alitalia,  main italian airline company with 74 years history, after the privatisation happened in 2008, has been destroyed by bad management and lack of public control. Finally, 4 years ago, the workers unite defeated the last proposal of salary and jobs cuts and Alitalia and sent away private owners (etihad company) and Alitalia went in controlled administration ruled by the […]

Date Released: 06 April 2021 A major manufacturing company based in county Limerick has been found to have made unlawful deductions from the pay of some of its workers by the Workplace Relations Commission. The case, involving 48 SIPTU members, arose following a cut in wages for workers put on short-time working by the company in 2019. At the hearing, SIPTU representatives successfully argued under Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 that the workers were entitled to be paid for the period they were on short-time because they had not consented to, nor was there a term and condition […]

Wednesday 31 March 2021 Mandate Trade Union today expressed strong criticism of yesterday’s government announcement to scrap the previous vaccine roll-out plans in order to follow an aged-based model similar to the UK. Mandate General Secretary, Gerry Light, said “The sudden shift from prioritising job categories, including essential workers who have kept society functioning, over now to an age-based roll-out is a serious slap in the face for the many thousands of our members who have continued to serve the public. Those essential retail workers who have bravely attended work and who have been on the frontline continuing to work […]

From the People’s Movement Newsletter. Social change is home-grown – not a gift from the EU. 0 March 10, 2021 Written by FRANK KEOGHAN There is a general view that all social change has come from the European Union. It is a view that has been promulgated during the various referendums, particularly by certain trade unions and women’s groups and is often cited by our legislators when in a difficult spot concerning the EU. It has served to keep the majority of these key social actors in the unquestioning pro-EU camp – though this is slowly changing as the true nature of […]

Trade union rights are not protected under EU law. March 10, 2021 Written by FRANK KEOGHAN The best way to secure fair wages is through collective bargaining by trade unions and the right to join a trade union and to bargain collectively is recognised as a fundamental human right by numerous European and international charters and conventions. And yet union-busting is on the rise in EU. Collective bargaining must be the prerogative of genuine, democratic trade unions, and not arbitrary groups often set up to undermine union strength and impose unacceptable conditions. The “obligation” on the EU and its member states is clear. […]

Trade Unions hailed as the ” end of the road for bogus self employment. Read more here.

by Riccardo De Cristano “Business as usual is killing us” [1] Recent years have seen the rise and expansion of new financial instruments aimed to create a positive impact on society. One peculiar instrument, green bonds, is facing enormous growth, and we can notice how it is becoming a popular type of investment.[2] Through its mechanisms, even if a universal definition of what a green bond does not exist, investors can raise profits and provide positive outcomes for the environment. Market-based solutions to address environmental problems are not new. Robert Coase, in 1960, was the first one to propose a […]

The 8th of March each year has continued to grow in popularity around the world as a day on which to recognise and celebrate women in general. But this increase in popularity stems from a growing disconnection ( See Video) from the radical socialist roots of what was once widely known as International Working Women’s Day. The origins of the day can be traced back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, when women began protesting en masse for equal rights. In 1911 Clara Zetkin was a leading organiser of the first International Working Women’s Day demonstration, which took place on […]