In this issue:
Young workers’ protest against social welfare cuts at Dáil
SIPTU President says Budget 2014 requires much renovation
SIPTU Dublin bus drivers to vote on latest proposals next week
Permanent liquidator expected to be appointed to Andersen Ireland Ltd on Monday
SIPTU Home Helps meeting in Galway to discuss new contracts
Special Report
Jack O’Connor states that harsh budget will provoke private sector pay demands
Patricia King tells Conference that 'establishment' will resist collective bargaining
RMT leader Bob Crow addresses Conference
Irish Senior Citizens Parliament Protest
Sinn Féin Mansion House Event
Dublin Lockout – Impact and Objects
SIPTU welcomes Review of Joint Labour Committees
The 1913 Lockout Tapestry
Defending the Public University
DCU is a place of learning not just enterprise
Jack O'Connor calls for Social Solidarity to underpin the rebuilding of the Republic, One Hundred Years on
SIPTU members regret unavailability of some Dublin Fine Gael TDs to discuss budget proposals
Thirty-Seventh Countess Markievicz Memorial Lecture
Successful Fair Hotels Expo held in Liberty Hall
European Social Justice Award Goes to Irish Campaigners
100th Anniversary Wreath Laying Ceremony
End of an Era
Lockout Tapestry and trade union banners exhibition in Dublin
100th Anniversary of the Arrival of the SS Hare Food Ship in Dublin
The New Theatre presents 1913 LOCKOUT
Féile na Samhna
Budget unfairly hits young and old
Zero-hours Contracts
CityWide
The Risen People
TASC is recruiting!
Exhibition
Larkin Credit Union
Fair Hotels
SIPTU Membership Services
Fair Hotel
SIPTU Basic English Scheme
Supporting Quality
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Side articles
Young workers’ protest against social welfare cuts at Dáil
By Cat Finn, Young Workers’ Network

Over 150 young people protested outside the Dáil on Wednesday (16th October) against a Budget proposal to cut social welfare payments for under 26 year olds. The Government proposes to reduce jobseekers payments for all new claimants aged between 22 and 24 from €144 to €100 from 1st January 2014. For those aged 25 the reduction will be from €188 to €144.

The SIPTU supported Young Workers’ Network has stated that the proposal is a cynical attack on young people, whose lack of mobilisation to date makes them an easy target for cuts. The protest called for all young people to organise and fight back while also stressing the importance of solidarity with all vulnerable groups targeted in the budget.
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SIPTU President says Budget 2014 requires much renovation
Budget 2014 is one that requires much renovation SIPTU President, Jack O’Connor has said. In a review of the budget measures he said: “Granted, a €2.5bn budget is better than the €3.1bn originally projected. However, the Government could have got away with taking out a couple of hundred million euro less again while still safely undercutting the 5.1% deficit target for 2014.

“The decision to abolish tax relief on pension contributions for very high earners is long overdue. However, in the budget speech last year it was envisaged to yield €250 million in a full year. It is not at all clear from the way that it is being implemented that it will meet this target. The proposed bank levy to yield €150 million is positive as are the other measures to raise revenue from capital and wealth but there is considerably more space to increase the contribution from those who can most afford it.  Regrettably, the Fine Gael party’s continued insistence on protecting the rich will mean further unnecessary suffering for low income pensioners and struggling families.
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SIPTU Dublin bus drivers to vote on latest proposals next week
SIPTU Dublin Bus drivers will vote next week on a set of proposals aimed at concluding the long running dispute at the company.

The latest set of proposals on the implementation of a cost saving plan at the company were drawn up by former SIPTU National Organiser, Noel Dowling, and management consultant, Ultan Courtney.

The dispute over cost-saving plans led to a three-day strike at the company in August following an attempt by management to implement changes to work practices without agreement.
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Permanent liquidator expected to be appointed to Andersen Ireland Ltd on Monday
The provisional liquidator to the costume jewellery manufacturer, Andersen Ireland Ltd, Rathkeale, Co. Limerick, is expected to be made permanent at the High Court on Monday (21st October).

SIPTU Organiser, Denis Gormalley, said: “Almost half of the workforce is currently laid off as the process of permanently winding down the company begins. SIPTU representatives have been in negotiations with the provisional liquidator since his appointment last month on a collective redundancy agreement for our members who face losing their jobs.”
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SIPTU Home Helps meeting in Galway to discuss new contracts
SIPTU is holding information meetings for HSE Home Helps based in Galway on Wednesday, 23rd October in the Clayton Hotel, Ballybrit and Thursday, 24th October, in the Loughrea Hotel and Spa, Loughrea, both meetings commencing at 7.30pm.

The meetings will discuss the recent Labour Court recommendation concerning Home Helps’ contracts of employment which establish a new minimum threshold of working hours and curtail the outsourcing of the service.
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Special Report
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Jack O’Connor states that harsh budget will provoke private sector pay demands

In his Presidential Address at the SIPTU Biennial Delegate Conference, SIPTU General President, Jack O’Connor, said that if the Government exceeds the 5.15% deficit target for Budget 2014, his union will urge the Private Sector Committee of Congress to “spearhead a radical new drive for pay increases across the economy”.

Jack O’Connor made his address following the official opening by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Oisín Quinn, of the Biennial Delegate Conference at on Monday, 7th October, in the Round Room, Mansion House, Dublin.

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Patricia King tells Conference that 'establishment' will resist collective bargaining

The "establishment" will meet moves to legislate for workers' right to collective bargaining with "massive resistance", SIPTU Vice-President, Patricia King told the union's Biennial Delegate Conference on Wednesday, 9th October, in the Mansion House, Dublin.

She said that Government moves to give effect to a promise in the joint Programme for Government to enact legalisation on collective bargaining would mark a "turning point for workers".


Workers from Milne Foods in Birr, County Offaly, who are involved in a dispute with the company due to its failure to implement a Labour Court recommendation, are applauded by delegates at the SIPTU Conference in the Mansion House, Dublin.

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RMT leader Bob Crow addresses Conference

In a rousing speech to delegates at the second day of the SIPTU Biennial Delegate Conference, RMT General Secretary, Bob Crow, said his union was committed to “militant trade unionism.”

“I won’t stab you in the back I’ll stab you in the front,” Crow said in a speech in which he called for politicians that court trade unionists’ support before elections but then forgot about them when in office to be “scrubbed” and replaced.

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Irish Senior Citizens Parliament Protest


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Sinn Féin Mansion House Event
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Dublin Lockout – Impact and Objects
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SIPTU welcomes Review of Joint Labour Committees

SIPTU has welcomed the publication on Tuesday, (1st October) by the Minister for Jobs, Innovation and Enterprise, Richard Bruton, of the long awaited 'Review of the Joint Labour Committees' (JLCs).

According to SIPTU Vice-President, Patricia King, the union is concerned at the narrowing of the scope of some JLCs and the abolition of others but she said that the Minister should now move swiftly to create the establishment orders necessary to get the system up and running.

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The 1913 Lockout Tapestry
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Defending the Public University
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DCU is a place of learning not just enterprise
SIPTU Education Sector Organiser, Louise O’Reilly, responds to a call by  the president of Dublin City University (DCU) for further neo-liberal ‘reforms’ to third level education.

At the 2013 McGill Summer School, DCU President Brian MacCraith called for “public/private hybrid Higher Education Institutions” based on the FEC (full economic costing) model.  He argues that we simply need to “accept the fact that the state has no more resources to give” and charge students full economic cost fees.  The state-funded places would still see students paying the “normal student charge”.  Bizarrely, this model is presented as promoting social equity when in fact it would lead to a two–tier system as in the health sector.  There is nothing ‘progressive’ about effectively privatising higher education so that free market rules prevail with only a failing Access safety net for those who are not ‘entrepreneurial’ enough to have €20,000-€25,000 available annually for fees.
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Jack O'Connor calls for Social Solidarity to underpin the rebuilding of the Republic, One Hundred Years on
Delivering the opening address at the weekend event “From Lockout to Bailout” in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, at the end of September, Jack O’Connor, SIPTU General President,  challenged the myth that the Lockout was the opening salvo of a decade of rebellion against the British oppressor. He said that the accurate historical context for the Lockout was what he called the remarkable mobilisation of working people both in Britain and in the USA in the preceding years, paralleled  in Ireland by the emergence of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union, and that the Lockout was the response of a privileged class against the workers and the poor in Dublin, against the background of the drive towards Home Rule in Ireland.
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SIPTU members regret unavailability of some Dublin Fine Gael TDs to discuss budget proposals
The SIPTU Dublin District Council has stated that it regrets the failure of some Fine Gael TDs to meet constituents to discuss ICTU proposals aimed at boosting economic growth and creating jobs.

Members of the SIPTU Dublin District Council have contacted all the Fine Gael TDs in Dublin to arrange a meeting to present them with the ICTU document, ‘Budget Perspectives’, and discuss its content before the October budget.
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Thirty-Seventh Countess Markievicz Memorial Lecture


The Chairperson and Council of the Irish Association for Industrial Relations

have pleasure in inviting you to attend the

Thirty-Seventh Countess Markievicz Memorial Lecture

by Lauren Arrington

 Constance Markievicz and the Idea of Ireland”

 

Dublin Institute of Technology, Aungier Street

Friday, November 29, 2013, 13.00 – 14.00 hours

With support from the Labour Relations Commission

www.ul.ie/iair

Dr. Arrington is the author of W.B. Yeats, the Abbey Theatre, Censorship and the Irish State (Oxford University Press, 2010).  She is lecturer at the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool.  Her biography Revolutionary Lives: Constance and Casimir Markievicz will be published by Princeton University Press.

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Successful Fair Hotels Expo held in Liberty Hall
Representatives of over 30 hotels and 50 organisations seeking to book event and conference venues attended a highly successful Fair Hotels Expo in Liberty Hall on Tuesday, 17th September.

A Fair Hotel is one that ensures the fair treatment of staff and recognition of their right to a collective voice at work.


L-R: SIPTU Division Organiser John King; SIPTU Vice-President Patricia King, SIPTU Organiser Joanna Ozdarska, ICTU General Secretary David Begg; Eileen Sweeney; SIPTU General President Jack O'Connor; National Campaigns and Equality Organiser Ethel Buckley; SIPTU Industrial Organiser Denis Hynes and Eileen Ryan at the Fair Hotels Expo in Liberty Hall on Tuesday, 17th September.
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European Social Justice Award Goes to Irish Campaigners
Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) and activist Mohammed Younis was presented with the SOLIDAR Silver Rose Award at the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday (16th October). This is the first time the Silver Rose has been awarded to Irish recipients.

Gráinne O’Toole of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) said, “We are honoured to be acknowledged for our work on social justice, particularly in the area of forced labour and rights for undocumented migrants. These are burning issues not only in Ireland but across Europe.”
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100th Anniversary Wreath Laying Ceremony
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End of an Era
Friday, 6th September 2013 saw the end of an era for three SIPTU members  of the TCD Section Committee as it was their last meeting before retirement.

Kyran Travers the Section Chair and previous Secretary representing the secretarial/executive related grades was one of the last remaining veterans of the 1983 FWUI strike committee which led a two-week dispute with Trinity College Dublin.


L-R: Kyran Travers, Jack McGinley, Rita O'Toole, Brendan McKevitt and SIPTU Sector Organiser Louise O'Reilly
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Lockout Tapestry and trade union banners exhibition in Dublin

1913 Lockout: Impact and Aftermath, Banners Unfurled Exhibition. To mark the 100th anniversary of the Dublin Lockout of 1913 the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan TD (2nd from left), pictured with, from left, Joe O'Flynn, General Secretary of SIPTU, Raghnall O'Floinn, Director of the National Museum, and Sally Anne Kinahan, ICTU Assistant general Secretary, opened three new exhibitions, '1913 Lockout: Impact and Aftermath', 'Banners Unfurled' and 'Lockout: The Tapestry', at the National Museum of Ireland. Photo/Photocall Ireland


The 1913 Lockout Tapestry and historical trade union banners are being exhibited in the National Museum, Collins Barracks, Dublin until Sunday, 17th November.The exhibition entitled ‘Banners Unfurled’ features all 30 panels of the 1913 Lockout Tapestry along with 18 trade union banners and full size reproductions.

Launching the exhibition on Thursday (10th October) SIPTU General Secretary, Joe O’Flynn, said the exhibition was another successful event in the centenary commemoration of the 1913 Lockout.
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100th Anniversary of the Arrival of the SS Hare Food Ship in Dublin

The 100th anniversary of the first food shipment from the British TUC to support striking workers and their families during the 1913 Lockout was re-enacted on Saturday (5th October) at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2.


Arrival of the SS Hare Food Ship to Dublin on 5th October, 2013 at Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin. Picture: Photocall

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The New Theatre presents 1913 LOCKOUT
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Féile na Samhna
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Budget unfairly hits young and old
 
LibertyHall

Budget 2014 spared the majority of working people from direct cuts to their income and made some effort to stimulate the economy through capital investment, although nowhere near what is required to tackle the jobs crisis.

However, it singled out again those most vulnerable in society, in particular the older generation and new entrants to the jobs market.

The cut in the telephone allowance for elderly people is both harsh and unnecessary and will merely create unwarranted anxiety for those living alone while the review of medical card entitlements will invariably hurt those who most depend on State care.

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Zero-hours Contracts
 
Steve Davies
Steve Davies
This summer in the United Kingdom (UK), ‘zero-hours contracts’ grabbed the headlines and dominated discussion about changes to working life. Zero-hours contracts are those in which a worker agrees to be available for work with a particular employer but without any guaranteed hours or times of work and therefore usually no guaranteed pay either. Under these contracts employers only need to pay for work when they need it. These contracts are not a new phenomenon, although the scale of their current use in the UK is unprecedented. This is seen by employers and ministers as part of the ‘necessary’ flexible labour market.
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CityWide




CITYWIDE COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN MEETING

Wednesday 23rd October 10.00am - 1.00pm
Gresham Hotel, O'Connell Street, Dublin

This campaign meeting is also being supported and attended by the National Voluntary Drugs Sector and its members.


DRUGS – CAN WE TAKE ANY MORE?
COME ALONG ON THE 23RD AND GIVE THE VIEWS FROM YOUR COMMUNITY

See Programme for meeting here. Please confirm your attendance so we can confirm numbers for lunch: info@citywide.ie anna@citywide.ie or by by telephone 01-8365090/8365039

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The Risen People


To mark the centenary of the 1913 Dublin Lockout, the Abbey Theatre is delighted to announce a new stage version of The Risen People by James Plunkett for the Abbey stage in December. Central to this exciting new production of The Risen People is the creative collaboration between director Jimmy Fay, composer Conor Linehan and choreographer Colin Dunne of Riverdance fame. To capture the essence of James Plunkett’s play, these talented artists collaborate to create an invigorating production, full of music, song and movement in what promises to be an exuberant and memorable theatrical presentation.

The Risen People, which inspired James Plunkett’s masterpiece Strumpet City, was first produced by the Abbey Theatre in 1958. 
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TASC is recruiting!



TASC is recruiting two posts to assist with our mission of promoting a flourishing society, based on equality, social justice, transparent democracy and sustainable economic activity.
Please click on the following links to see Job Descriptions and application instructions:

Policy Analyst (Economic and/or Social Policy)

Project Officer (Open Government/Freedom of Information)

All applications should be made using the linked Application Form and submitted by 5pm, Friday 25th October.

(Save and email, or print and post, the application form to TASC, Castleriver House, 14-15 Parliament Street, Dublin 2, contact@tascnet.ie)

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Exhibition
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Larkin Credit Union

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Fair Hotels
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SIPTU Membership Services
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Fair Hotel
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SIPTU Basic English Scheme

BasicEnglishADLOL
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Supporting Quality
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SIPTU serves strike notice on McAllister Garage Ltd
SIPTU has served strike notice on McAllister Garage Ltd (trading as McAllister Volkswagen), Airside Motor Park, Swords, Co. Dublin, with the action scheduled to commence on Monday, 7th October at 9.00 a.m. The scheduled strike is due to a management decision to impose disciplinary sanctions, including dismissal, on workers who are implementing a work to rule action in a dispute with the company over attempts to unilaterally change their contracts of employment.

SIPTU Organiser, Andrew McGuinness, said: “The workers have been left with no option but to escalate this dispute due to the confrontational attitude of management.
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