In this issue:
Locked out Greyhound workers to march to Dublin City Hall on Monday
SIPTU members win wage increases across the Manufacturing Sector
SIPTU endorses call for a Living Wage of €11.45 per hour
Unions united in support of Dublin Pride Parade
Public Sector to strike in Northern Ireland on 10th July
SIPTU says privatisation of bus routes will damage free travel scheme
SIPTU members in National Gallery give notice of strike action
High Court appoints liquidator to Paris Bakery
VENEZUELA - What's Really Happening?
SIPTU welcomes Valeant investment in Bausch and Lomb plant
SIPTU members ballot on Irish Rail proposals
The Cuban Piper at the Clé Club
SIPTU says partial merger of Bord na Móna and Coillte presents opportunities for expansion
Skilled Visas – No Toil All Trouble
SIPTU to study Aer Lingus/DAA pensions report
Labour Court hearing into Roadstone Woods Ltd. dispute scheduled for today
NUJ Protest at Egyptian Embassy
School of Social Justice, University College Dublin
The Spirit of Mother Jones Festival 2014
NERI argues for €800 million adjustment
SIPTU HSE Ambulance Service staff ballot for strike action
Unions protest at failure of the Department of Education to protect workers’ rights
Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Fairshop
More pay rises - less budget cuts
Jobless rate still 'unacceptably high', warns Congress
Thought provoking visit to Ireland by Thomas Piketty
Young Workers Network
SIPTU Basic English Scheme
One Direct – Up to 80% off Car Insurance
Supporting Quality campaign
The INN at DROMOLAND
10% discount for SIPTU members from Taxback.com
Larkin Credit Union
Family annual travel insurance reduced to €55.54
Fair Hotels
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2014 Dublin Gay Pride Parade on Saturday, 28th July.


Locked out Greyhound workers to march to Dublin City Hall on Monday
SIPTU members who are locked out of their work at Greyhound Household Ltd will march to Dublin City Hall on Monday, 7th July.

The event will begin with a rally at Liberty Hall at 3.30 p.m., followed by the workers and their supporters marching to City Hall for the start of the Dublin City Council meeting at 5.30 p.m.

The workers have been locked out at the waste disposal company since 17th June. Management at the company is attempting to force workers to accept wage cuts of up to 35% and have employed strike breakers to carry out waste collections during the dispute.


Greyhound workers on the picket line outside the Greyhound Household plant in Knockmitten, south Dublin, on Friday, 27th June
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SIPTU members win wage increases across the Manufacturing Sector
SIPTU members employed across the manufacturing sector continue to receive pay increases with over 210 wage agreements finalised so far.  The increases are part of a strategy by SIPTU’s Manufacturing Division which has secured pay increases across the sector by on average 2% per annum.
 
Manufacturing Divisional Organiser Gerry McCormack said that the increases in pay across the manufacturing sector are important at insulating the take home pay of union members as much as possible from the full effects of the economic crisis and austerity.
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SIPTU endorses call for a Living Wage of €11.45 per hour
SIPTU has endorsed the setting of a Living Wage for workers in Ireland of €11.45 per hour, as calculated by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice (VPSJ).

At a press conference in Dublin today (Thursday, 3rd July) it was announced that the Living Wage Technical Group, which was established by the VPSJ, has calculated a Living Wage of €11.45 per hour. This Living Wage would allow workers and their families to fully participate in society and ensure they did not fall into poverty.
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Unions united in support of Dublin Pride Parade
A number of  trade unions representing workers across all sectors of the economy participated in the 2014 Dublin Pride Parade, which took place on Saturday, 28th June.

Among the unions taking part were: SIPTU, the PSEU, the TUI, the ASTI, the INTO, the CPSU, the NUJ, the IFUT, IMPACT and the Unite trade union. The 2014 Dublin Pride Festival has also seen Liberty Hall’s rooftop lit up in pride colours nightly, as an expression of solidarity with the LGBT community in Ireland.



Liberty Hall rooftop lit up in pride colours on Saturday night, 21st June.
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Public Sector to strike in Northern Ireland on 10th July
SIPTU members will be joining their colleagues in the public sector in Northern Ireland in a 24-hour strike action on Thursday, 10th July.
 
The strike will involve SIPTU members in local government in three councils in Northern Ireland. The action by workers results from their rejection of an offer of a 1%  pay rise by the employers side of the National Joint Council (NJC).
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SIPTU says privatisation of bus routes will damage free travel scheme
SIPTU Divisional Organiser, Owen Reidy, has said the free transport scheme for senior citizens is under threat given the fact that the National Transportation Authority (NTA) has decided to privatise up to 10% of Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann services by 2016. In the case of Waterford 100% of the Bus Eireann service is to be privatised.
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SIPTU members in National Gallery give notice of strike action
SIPTU members in the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin have given notice to management that they intend to undertake two days of strike action on Monday, 7th July, and Monday, 14th July, in a dispute related to changes to their conditions of employment.

SIPTU Organiser, Jason Palmer, said: “SIPTU members in the National Gallery voted to reject proposals regarding annual leave and a St. Stephen's Day payment which emerged from recent discussions with management on an earlier Labour Court recommendation.
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High Court appoints liquidator to Paris Bakery
Paris Bakery workers can now access insolvency fund.

On Monday, 30th June the High Court formally wound up Paris Bakery and Pastry Ltd and appointed a liquidator in response to a petition by the Revenue Commissioner. The Revenue Commissioner had intervened after a 19-day sit-in by Paris bakery workers.
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VENEZUELA - What's Really Happening?
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SIPTU welcomes Valeant investment in Bausch and Lomb plant
SIPTU welcomed the announcement on Wednesday (25th June) of a major investment in the Bausch and Lomb plant in Waterford by the company’s owners, Valeant.

SIPTU representatives attended a meeting with Valeant Senior Vice President, Dennis Asharin, and Vice President, Angelo Conti, at which the company announced that there is to be a major investment in new technology and machinery for the Bausch and Lomb plant.
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SIPTU members ballot on Irish Rail proposals
SIPTU members in Irish Rail are balloting on fresh proposals for cost saving measures in the company.

According to SIPTU Sector Organiser, Willie Noone, the proposals include definitive clarity on exchequer subvention for the rail service for the next three years and a guarantee that the company will not seek further pay reductions or changes to conditions of employment during that time.
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The Cuban Piper at the Clé Club


The Cuban Piper: Alexander Suarez Mendez is 23 years old and from Havana in Cuba. He started learning music when he was 14 years old, on the Galician Pipes. He started learning the uilleann pipes in 2011 from Gay McKeon at workshops in Havana. There are now over 15 uilleann pipers in Havana and Pinar Del Rio and they undertake public performances regularly. Alexander learned how to make reeds for the uilleann pipes from Donnacha Dwyer who also visited Cuba and helps maintain the pipes for the other Cuban uilleann pipers. Alexander teaches Irish music on uilleann pipes and tin whistle to young people in Cuba. 
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SIPTU says partial merger of Bord na Móna and Coillte presents opportunities for expansion
SIPTU has called for advantage to be taken of the opportunities for expansion that are presented by the partial merger of Bord na Móna and Coillte following a meeting of the union’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee in Portlaoise, on Thursday (26th June).

SIPTU Sector Organiser, Adrian Kane, said: “The merger of the companies has the potential to create new business opportunities, particularly in renewable forms of energy and tourism. SIPTU will work with the new merged entity in exploring ways in which new job opportunities can be created. However, SIPTU will resist any attempts to reduce overall numbers employed in the new entity.”
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Skilled Visas – No Toil All Trouble
A record number of skilled construction workers have landed in Australia from the UK and Ireland dreaming of a prosperous new life. But for some, like plumber Conor Newell, that dream has been sucked down the plughole along with thousands of dollars.
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SIPTU to study Aer Lingus/DAA pensions report

SIPTU has said that it will carefully study the final report of the Expert Panel on the resolution of industrial relations issues in the Irish Aviation Superannuation Scheme (IASS) which was issued on Monday, 16th June.

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Labour Court hearing into Roadstone Woods Ltd. dispute scheduled for today

The Labour Court will hold a hearing into the ongoing dispute at Roadstone Woods Ltd. this afternoon (Thursday, 3rd July).

Representatives of SIPTU and TEEU, as well as the management of the company, will attend the hearing that follows exploratory talks between the parties which were convened by the Labour Relation Commission last week.

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NUJ Protest at Egyptian Embassy

Members of the NUJ and other unions, including SIPTU Vice-President Patricia King, protesting outside the Egyptian Embassy in Dublin on Thursday (26th June) against the jailing of three Al Jazeere journalists in Egypt.
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School of Social Justice, University College Dublin

Are you looking for a postgraduate programme with a difference?

The School of Social Justice, UCD is currently taking applicants for its taught postgraduate courses in Women, Gender and Society and Equality studies in the UCD School of Social Justice.  

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The Spirit of Mother Jones Festival 2014
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NERI argues for €800 million adjustment
The tenth Quarterly Economic Observer from the Nevin Economic Research Institute was launched on Wednesday (25th June).

The Institute projected a budget deficit of 2.5% of GDP on the basis of the investment stimulus combined with a net adjustment of €800 million.
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SIPTU HSE Ambulance Service staff ballot for strike action
SIPTU members in the HSE National Ambulance Service including advanced paramedics, emergency medical technicians, controllers and patient transport service professionals are balloting for strike action over the refusal by the HSE to implement two binding Labour Court recommendations.
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Unions protest at failure of the Department of Education to protect workers’ rights
Construction workers from SIPTU and BATU trade unions held a protest on Thursday (26th June) outside the Department of Education and Skills, Marlborough Street, Dublin 1, to highlight its failure to uphold agreed terms and conditions of employment for workers on projects under its remit.

The projects concerned fall under the Department of Education and Skills School Building Programme and form part of a €1.5 billion Capital Investment Programme.
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Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Context and collective punishment: A briefing note for journalists in the aftermath of killings in the Palestine-Israel region

The IPSC deplores the brutal murder of the three young Israeli citizens whose remains were found on Monday (30th June) near Hebron and the apparent ‘revenge’ murder of a Palestinian teenager reportedly carried out by Israeli extremists early Wednesday. Equally the IPSC deplores the deaths of all civilians killed in this conflict of unequals, including the six civilians killed by Israeli occupation forces since the Israeli teenagers were kidnapped.
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Fairshop
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LIBERTY VIEW
 
LibertyHall
More pay rises - less budget cuts
SIPTU members employed across the manufacturing sector continue to receive pay increases with over 210 wage agreements finalised so far.

The increases are part of a strategy by the union’s Manufacturing Division which has secured an increase in pay across the sector of, on average, 2% per annum.

The increases in pay across the manufacturing sector are important in that they insulate the take home pay of union members as much as possible from the full effects of the economic crisis and austerity.

The union will continue to press for wage increases across both the private and public sectors over the coming months while campaigning for a budget that protects public services and those who depend on them.
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ECONOMY
Jobless rate still 'unacceptably high', warns Congress
On Wednesday (2nd July) the Irish Congress of Trade Unions welcomed the latest drop in the jobless rate, but warned that unemployment in Ireland remains unacceptably high when judged against average rates across the European Union.

Congress General Secretary David Begg said:“Obviously any fall in numbers is good news for people who get back to work, their families and wider society.
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Thought provoking visit to Ireland by Thomas Piketty
By Tom Healy

In scenes slightly reminiscent of the papal visit to Ireland in 1979 the departure of what the media has styled ‘rockstar’ Thomas Piketty has left a curious void. Was it a temporary mid-summer event to fete the fascinating and seductive ideas of a left-leaning French economist while regretting all the time ‘but that would never work here because ….’? We belong to a world where tax is viewed as a ‘burden’ and we wonder why the French ‘tolerate’ such high taxes (and yet, ironically, wonder at their public infrastructure, health system and early childhood provision).


Thomas Piketty, Associate Chair, Paris School of Economonics and author of 'Capital in the Twenty-First Century' addressing the TASC-FEPS Annual Conference in Croke Park on Friday, 20th June. (Photo: Photocall Ireland)
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Young Workers Network
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SIPTU Basic English Scheme

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One Direct – Up to 80% off Car Insurance
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Supporting Quality campaign
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The INN at DROMOLAND
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10% discount for SIPTU members from Taxback.com
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Larkin Credit Union

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Family annual travel insurance reduced to €55.54
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Fair Hotels
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