SIPTU members brief Joint Oireachtas Committee on threat to community schemes

SIPTU members attended a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands on Wednesday (11th May) to brief it on the growing threat to the operation of community schemes across the country. Rural Social Scheme (RSS) supervisor and member of the SIPTU RSS National Committee, Liz MacDonald, told the Committee that the programmes she operates provide financial support to low-income farmers and fishermen in return for them providing 19.5 hours of work each week supporting services in their local communities.  She said: “The work carried out by RSS is far reaching and includes tidy town projects, […]

XVIII Congress of WFTU: Rome declaration

We publish today the “Rome Declaration” which was adopted by the 18th World Trade Union Congress on May 8th, 2022 in Rome, Italy, and constitutes the main guidelines of the WFTU for the next 5 years.  

WFTU statement on the 74th anniversary of Nakba Day

The international class-oriented trade union movement commemorates the 74th anniversary of Nakba Day and the killing of 15.000 Palestinians on May 15, 1948, and the displacement of 750.000 others during that period, by the state of Israel.  The World Federation of Trade Unions on behalf of its 105 million workers who work, live, and struggle in 133 countries on the 5 continents firmly stands on the side of the heroic Palestinian people and strongly condemns the constant crime of the Israeli occupation and its barbaric consequences. We denounce the hypocrisy and the dirty role of the USA, EU, and NATO […]

AIB need to restore the 35 hour week.

The Financial Services Union (FSU) have launched a campaign to restore the 35-hour working week in AIB. The Union state that during the years of austerity the working week in AIB was extended from 35 hours to 37 hours. Speaking at the Triennial Conference of the FSU, Billy Barrett, Senior Industrial Relations Officer with responsibility for members in AIB commented: “In a judgment a couple of years ago the Labour Court stated that “employees who cooperated with adjustments to pay and conditions of employment during the crisis are entitled to have those progressively reversed as circumstances improve “AIB has reported […]

Trade Union Left Forum. May Day Statement:

Trade Union Left Forum   Mayday Statement: Trade union left forum wish to extend our solidarity greetings to workers their families unions and communities in Ireland and beyond on this International Workers Day. We take this opportunity to announce that the TULF have completed drafting a bill for legislation to replace many of the workers’ rights lost as a result of decades of anti-worker legislation dating back to the 1940s. The TULF  have been campaigning for the last 4 years against anti-worker legislation, many unions along with the next generation of workers in the form of the Union of Students in […]

Mandate President Denise Curran’s Speech to 1916 Commemoration in Sligo

Thursday 28 April 2022 Sisters/Brothers, I’m honoured and delighted to address this important gathering today, as we not only commemorate those great Irish women and men who fought so gallantly against the odds and for so long in delivering to some extent our country’s independence from a cruel colonial power, but equally importantly to reaffirm our ongoing struggle for a true republic in which the focus is firmly on its citizens, families and communities. I’m also very humbled that as Mandate President we remember in our commemoration two true Irish men in that struggle for independence- Patrick Moran from Roscommon […]

MAY DAY MARCH AND RALLY – DUBLIN COUNCIL OF TRADE UNIONS- Sunday 1st May

Dublin Council Of Trade Unions Invites ALL Workers and others to their May Day Rally this coming Sunday 1st May. The slogan will be A Decent Public Health Service! End the Housing Crisis now! Assemble: Garden of Remembrance. Parnell Square. Dublin at 1.30 PM.  Followed by march to Liberty Hall for Public meeting outside. Support your Trade Union. Come along and bring family and friends.

The Amazon Labor Union Victory Lessons for All Workers

In one of the most remarkable labor organizing victories in decades, the Amazon workers in Staten Island voted to unionize with the independent Amazon Labor Union (ALU). This is the first organizing victory for any union at any of Amazon’s 110 warehouses across the USA, the nation’s second largest employer with over a million employees. This was a real bottom-up organizing effort potentially highlighting an effective way forward for the rest of labor – a victory that gives momentum to workers not only in the other Amazon warehouses but in all industries. It demonstrates how and why rank and file […]

Unions dismayed at Department of Social Protection handling of employment services

SIPTU and Fórsa members employed in local employment services (LES) and Job Clubs are losing confidence in the ability of the Department of Social Protection to manage these vital social services following a further change in the contracts for their provision. SIPTU Public Administration and Community Division Organiser, Adrian Kane, said: “The Department of Social Protection has, without consultation, extended the contract of the current providers of LES and Job Clubs until August. This is yet another example of times for the deadlines concerning the operation of these services being unilaterally changed by the Department.   “This reactive and last […]

The WFTU International Campaign in Solidarity and Relief of the Palestinian People ended with success.

On April 10th, 2022 a solidarity event with massive participation was organized by NAKLIYAT-IS in Istanbul Turkey to mark the successful end of the WFTU – GUPW Palestine campaign. The materials were collected by 45 countries of the world. The huge participation in the campaign proves once more the solidarity of WFTU and its members with the Palestinian people. In the event participated the WFTU General Secretary George Mavrikos, Ali Riza Küçükosmanoğlu, member of WFTU Presidential Council and General Secretary of TUI Transport and the ambassador of Palestine in Turkey. Our next step is the arrival and distribution of the […]