FEATURES
Latest statement from Paris Bakery Workers

“Seven days in, we’re staying strong. Today (Thursday 29 May) workers and supporters will again take our demands to the estate of multi-millionaire company director Ruth Savill in Wicklow. It’s the end of the month: our rent is due, we have bills to pay. Giving up is not an option.

Last Friday morning, to stop company director Yannick Forel from stripping assets from the bakery, we began a sit-in. We’ve spent six nights here, sleeping on the floor, just to get the money we have already earned.


“Seven days in, we’re staying strong. Today (Thursday 29 May) workers and supporters will again take our demands to the estate of multi-millionaire company director Ruth Savill in Wicklow. It’s the end of the month: our rent is due, we have bills to pay. Giving up is not an option.
 
Last Friday morning, to stop company director Yannick Forel from stripping assets from the bakery, we began a sit-in. We’ve spent six nights here, sleeping on the floor, just to get the money we have already earned.
 
We are each owed up to three months’ wages. The longer we stay here, the more Paris Bakery workers come to us and reveal that they too are owed wages – now in the region of €100,000 in total.
 
Our employers, Ruth Savill and Yannick Forel, have left us in limbo. They refuse to pay us the wages we are owed for months of work, and they also refuse to declare the company insolvent so we can get support from the Insolvency Fund.
 
The response from the public has been amazing – our Facebook page is approaching 4,000 likes after just one week. MEPs, Moore Street traders, TDs, former customers and local businesses have all expressed their support for us in person and online. Almost 3,000 people have signed our petition, which we will leave for Ruth Savill at her Wicklow mansion.
 
Ruth Savill and Yannick Forel profited from our work; now they need to pay us for it.”

NEWS
Paris Bakery workers call for action not words from Minister Bruton
Paris Bakery workers were in the Dáil to hear Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD respond to their plight on Tuesday (27th May). The workers had been occupying the Moore Street bakery in Dublin for five days in an attempt to recover almost €100,000 in unpaid wages and entitlements owed to them by employers Yannick Forel and Ruth Savill.

Paris Bakery workers owed wages occupy the bakery, Dublin 23 May 2014


Paris Bakery workers were in the Dáil to hear Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD respond to their plight on Tuesday (27th May). The workers had been occupying the Moore Street bakery in Dublin for five days in an attempt to recover almost €100,000 in unpaid wages and entitlements owed to them by employers Yannick Forel and Ruth Savill.

The Paris Bakery workers wish to clarify some of the inaccurate statements made by the Minister.

Anissa Hosany, one of the locked-out workers, stated:

“Firstly, the Minister said that the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) was currently in touch with us. Unfortunately, while a representative from NERA spoke with one worker last Friday, we have had no contact from them since then.”

“Secondly, the Minister seems unaware that a number of my fellow workers have taken cases to the LRC and won, but have still not received anything from our employer. Just like the rest of us, they’re still waiting for what is owed to them.”

“I don’t think the Minister understands the urgency of our situation. One of my colleagues is homeless and others have young children to feed and rent to pay. They can’t wait six months for a decision from the LRC. We need assistance now.”

“The Minister said that there are solutions if both the employer and the workers can come to agreement, but our employers are not engaging with us at all. They are refusing to even speak to us.”

“We’ve now received sympathy from both Minister Bruton and Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton, the two Ministers with the most power to help us. We’re very grateful for their words, but what we really need is action.”

“As far as we’re concerned, this is not an ‘industrial dispute’ as the Minister called it. This is theft of wages that we have earned and if we had robbed €100,000 from our employer we would be in jail right now.”

SIPTU Services Division Organiser, John King, has expressed the union’s full support for the workers protest. He said: “The treatment of these workers in this way is nothing short of disgraceful and should be roundly condemned. This situation presents the clearest reason why workers in this country must have strong robust employment protective legislation to protect them from such exploitative practices by unscrupulous employers, circumstances that unfortunately are too common an occurrence in certain sectors of our economy.

#‎ParisBakery Workers Solidarity Fund
Many people and organisations have offered to support the workers’ occupation of Paris Bakery, so the workers have asked MRCI to facilitate a Paris Bakery Workers Solidarity Fund. You can contribute through PayPal or by bank transfer – account details below. Please clearly state PARIS BAKERY WORKERS or PBW on the donation; if you have any problems, you can email hilary@mrci.ie, our Finance Manager. This money will be used for essentials for the workers during the sit-in: food, water, transport, bedding, protest materials, etc.

Account name: Migrant Rights Centre Ireland
Address: Allied Irish Bank, 37 Upper O’Connell St., Dublin 1
Sort code: 93-11-36
Account No. 17766133
IBAN No: IE58 AIBK 9311 361 7766 133
BIC No: AIBKIE2D

Any funds remaining at the end of the occupation will be used by MRCI to assist individual workers to access their rights and entitlements. The workers have asked MRCI to support them through this difficult process and we are glad to be able to do so'
SIPTU to seek meeting with Bausch and Lomb over proposed job cuts

SIPTU has called on the Government to redouble its efforts to retain jobs at the Bausch and Lomb/Valeant manufacturing plant in Waterford following the announcement today that 200 jobs are to go at the company.

Responding to the announcement, SIPTU Sector Organiser, Alan O’Leary, said:
 
“The announcement today of 200 job cuts is very bad news for the workers in Bausch and Lomb, Waterford. This development comes at a time when retaining quality manufacturing jobs is a key priority. SIPTU is calling on the Government to redouble its efforts to protect jobs in Bausch and Lomb, the largest employer in the South East Region.


SIPTU has called on the Government to redouble its efforts to retain jobs at the Bausch and Lomb/Valeant manufacturing plant in Waterford following the announcement today that 200 jobs are to go at the company.
 
Responding to the announcement, SIPTU Sector Organiser, Alan O’Leary, said:
 
“The announcement today of 200 job cuts is very bad news for the workers in Bausch and Lomb, Waterford. This development comes at a time when retaining quality manufacturing jobs is a key priority. SIPTU is calling on the Government to redouble its efforts to protect jobs in Bausch and Lomb, the largest employer in the South East Region.
 
“SIPTU members will be seeking a meeting with local management concerning the proposed redundancies. In line with our collective agreement the union will forensically look at the management proposal in order to reach a mutual agreement in an effort to reduce the number planned job cuts.
 
“Each and every job saved is a household spared the considerable financial worry and concern associated with losing employment. Today the workers in Bausch and Lomb are trying to come to terms with this bad news. However, we have a period of consultation and negotiation ahead and during this period we will work with management in an effort to minimise the job losses.”
Official naming of Rosie Hackett Bridge
A ceremony marking the official naming of the Rosie Hackett Bridge, which spans the Liffey between Marlborough Street and Hawkins Street, took place on Tuesday (20th May).


Pictured at the official naming ceremony of the Rosie Hackett bridge in Dublin on Tuesday, 20th May were (l-r): Rosie Hackett's nephew, John Grey, Lord Mayor of Dublin, Oisin Quinn; Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar TD; SIPTU General Secretary, Joe O'Flynn and Sabina Higgins. The new bridge will connect the green and red luas lines once the luas Cross city is completed. Ms Hackett was the only woman present at Liberty Hall at the printing of the 1916 Proclamation. (Photo: /Photocall Ireland)


A ceremony marking the official naming of the Rosie Hackett Bridge, which spans the Liffey between Marlborough Street and Hawkins Street, took place on Tuesday (20th May).

Addressing the crowd, Joe O’Flynn, congratulated the campaign organised by members of Labour Youth to have the bridge named after Rosie.

“They enjoyed huge public support and I think it is a refreshing change from naming buildings and other public entities after people of privilege. Rosie Hackett represented all that is best in the labour and trade union tradition in this great city.”

He added: “The huge public support is a reassertion of the values of social solidarity, the values of justice that marked not just Rosie but marked her generation.”

Following its official naming a celebratory walk and cycle across the bridge took place. A vintage tram, of the type Rosie would have travelled on in her youth, was on display at the event and the Communications Workers Union Concert Band provided entertainment.

Rosie was a long term ITGWU member who served in the Irish Citizen Army during the 1916 Rising and went on to work for many years in the union shop. Dublin City Councillors chose her name for the new bridge following public submissions and a series of votes.

New job creation figures show need for stimulus and investment

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has described the slowdown in employment growth as “extremely worrying and further proof that Government must now intervene directly to stimulate job creation and boost growth.”


The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has described the slowdown in employment growth as “extremely worrying and further proof that Government must now intervene directly to stimulate job creation and boost growth.”

Congress Assistant General Secretary Sally Anne Kinahan said the fall in job creation revealed in the CSO figures published on Monday (26th May) demanded urgent Government attention: “It is quite clear that new jobs are not being created in sufficient numbers to boost growth and spur recovery, with seasonally adjusted employment growing by just 1,700 jobs in the first quarter of this year.

"Additionally, a substantial number of jobs that have come on board in the last twelve months are in Agriculture and Accommodation and Food Services, which tend to be low paid and insecure.

"We now need an urgent intervention in the form of a programme of investment that will get people back to work, if we are to have any hope of recovery. Clearly, current initiatives are not generating new jobs in the numbers required  and Congress has outlined on a number of occasions how a credible stimulus package could be funded and generate work for tens of thousands of people,” Kinahan said.

“The domestic economy remains weak, with sectors like Wholesale and Retail still shedding jobs, as spending cuts have reduced the amount of money in circulation.

“We need to reverse the downward deflationary spiral and start reflating the economy with  a programme of investment,” she said.

SIPTU members in Irish Rail vote to reject Labour Court recommendation

SIPTU members in Irish Rail voted by 51% to 49% on Wednesday (21st May) to reject a Labour Court recommendation issued in relation to cost containment plans at the transport company.

Over 1,700 members participated in the ballot that was conducted by the SIPTU Irish Rail Committee.


SIPTU members in Irish Rail voted by 51% to 49% on Wednesday (21st May) to reject a Labour Court recommendation issued in relation to cost containment plans at the transport company.

Over 1,700 members participated in the ballot that was conducted by the SIPTU Irish Rail Committee.

SIPTU Organiser, Paul Cullen, said: “Our members have found this recommendation as it currently stands unacceptable. We would now ask the company to reflect on this rejection of the recommendation. SIPTU representatives will be in contact with the management of Irish Rail in the coming days to discuss our members’ position.”

He added: “Following the rejection of these proposals, SIPTU members in Irish Rail will now be balloted on strike and industrial action which will be undertaken if management attempt to implement changes to workers’ terms and conditions of employment without agreement.”

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Donkey sanctuary workers disgusted at treatment by management

Welfare staff working for The Donkey Sanctuary have expressed disgust at their treatment by management following its failure to accept union representation at a meeting held on Wednesday (21st May) to discuss the ongoing dispute at the registered charity.


Welfare staff working for The Donkey Sanctuary have expressed disgust at their treatment by management following its failure to accept union representation at a meeting held on Wednesday (21st May) to discuss the ongoing dispute at the registered charity.

Welfare Officer and SIPTU shop steward, Clem Ryan, said: “Management has steadfastly refused to accept the right of workers to be represented by their trade union. Throughout his dispute, which arose from a management decision to make 16 welfare staff redundant, workers have been treated in a deplorable manner by management.”

He added: “Members of staff were particularly disgusted at the refusal of management to accept the presence of our union representative at the meeting today in the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow, Co. Cork. At the meeting management reiterated its position and refused to enter into any negotiations concerning the outstanding issues. The workers also felt that management displayed an unnecessarily belligerent attitude at the meeting.”

SIPTU members began a series of two-hour strike actions at The Donkey Sanctuary on Monday (19th May). The actions are scheduled to continue every second day until Friday, 30th May.

SIPTU Organiser, Eddie Mullins, said: “The union has tried unsuccessfully to engage the company in discussions as to the reasoning behind the decision to make the 16 welfare staff redundant. This organisation is in receipt of substantial funding from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and it is unacceptable that it is then unwilling to utilise the industrial relations mechanisms of the State."

He added: “We believe that the company is in no financial difficulty and is simply attempting to replace qualified animal welfare staff with voluntary workers. Following the actions of management, SIPTU members at the registered charity are now discussing an escalation of their industrial action.”
SIPTU College Waterford Course linking with Traveller Community Health Project
A presentation by the Waterford Traveller Community Health Project to the ICTU/SIPTU HETAC Equality Module students on Monday 26th May 2014 was part of the programme by tutor Margaret de Courcey of developing the awareness and understanding of course students to the traveller ethnicity. “As one of the nine grounds under the Equality legislation we all too often pay lip service to this ground in favour of developing more detailed discussions on other areas like gender, age, disability etc. I felt the opportunity to explore in more detail this areas would enhance our awareness on the serious issues that confront the traveller community”


Pictured: (l-r) Wayne Walsh, SuperValu; Harry Acheson, Group 4S; Nan O’Reilly, Development worker, Waterford Traveller Community Health Project; John Hogan and Walter Comerford, Kilkenny County Council and Donie Brophy, Kilkenny Golf Club.  

A presentation by the Waterford Traveller Community Health Project to the ICTU/SIPTU HETAC Equality Module students on Monday 26th May 2014 was part of the programme by tutor Margaret de Courcey of developing the awareness and understanding of course students to the traveller ethnicity. “As one of the nine grounds under the Equality legislation we all too often pay lip service to this ground in favour of developing more detailed discussions on other areas like gender, age, disability etc. I felt the opportunity to explore in more detail this areas would enhance our awareness on the serious issues that confront the traveller community”

The contributors on the night from the Waterford Traveller Community Health Project were Emma Maguire Project Manager and Nan O’Reilly Development worker and herself a traveller.

The session started lively with students being asked to line up against a series of photographs where they were given a description of a person and asked to link the statement to the picture.

“As expected because of our stereotypical expectations based on sight and maybe prejudices the vast majority of us were incorrect in our linking of the person and the description” Margaret continued. This exercise set an excellent backdrop to the slide presentation of the historical and current issues facing travellers from the socio-economic issues to health and mental health issues in particular. The session also sought to expose the myths from realities about the community. It concluded with the positive achievements of a number of members of the traveller community, not often spoken about, who include a barrister, psychotherapist, PhD graduate and political writer to name but a few. As with all such sessions the discussion interaction was all to brief and rolled well over the time allocation.

Margaret summed up her approach for the course initiative by saying “What I have introduced into this module are individual contributors who can articulate their equality ground from their own personal experience whether they are transgender, traveller, disabled. This gives the students the opportunity to hear at first hand their life experience of what it’s like to “walk in their shoes” While I provide the more formal training requirements the guest speakers play a vital role in bringing their issues out to the class for more detailed discussion. Not only do I believe it’s a valuable input to the course it’s been warmly welcomed by the students in their assessment”

Finally Margaret wants to invite shop-stewards and union activists from the south east to join this HETAC training course which will continue in September. This is a two year programme based on six modules. Each module is taught over a ten week period, with an end of module assessment. Each module is a standalone subject but six modules are required to complete the qualification. Students can opt in and out of modules as suits either their work or personal requirements.  Qualification can be achieved over a longer period.    

For further details please contact Margaret de Courcey, on 0876784725 or mdecourcey@siptu.ie this course is also open to all other ICTU union activists in the south east. All are welcome.            

Cuban Five Commission film, 'Justice in London'
“Today I was not supposed to be sad”. These words of Irma Gonzalez stunned the crowd of 2000 people into silence at the concert organised as part of the International Commission of Inquiry into the case of the Cuban Five in London.

Official film report on the International Commission of Inquiry


“Today I was not supposed to be sad”. These words of Irma Gonzalez stunned the crowd of 2000 people into silence at the concert organised as part of the International Commission of Inquiry into the case of the Cuban Five in London.

Irma, daughter of Rene Gonzalez, the first of the Cuban Five to be released, is just one of over 20 witnesses featured in this magnificent film ‘Justice in London’ which covers the wide range of events held in London during those memorable days in March 2014.

The film features special guests to the Commission including Olga Salanueva, wife of Rene, US novelist Alice Walker, former US Attorney General Ramsey Clarke and Ricardo Alarcon, former President of the Cuban National Assembly.

It features the testimony of victims of the terrorist attacks that have been carried out against Cuba since 1959, and legal scrutiny of the United States government’s manipulation of the case, including their pay-offs to journalists so as to prejudice the jury pool and “inadequate facilities” for the Five’s defence.

Rene Gonzalez, denied a visa by the British government to attend in person, speaks to the Commission via Skype.

This official film report directed by renowned Cuban director Roberto Chile for ICAP (the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples) and narrated by Irma Gonzalez is now available on www.voicesforthefive.com

The panel of prominent judges invited from India, South Africa and France finish off their verdicts by the end of the Inquiry by urging the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, to “pardon immediately all these Five persons and release, immediately and unconditionally, the three persons that continue to languish in prison in the United States”.

Help spread the campaign on Twitter today: https://twitter.com/voices4the5

For the version of the film in Spanish & English with subtitles click here / por la versión del documental en español e inglés con subtítulos haga clic aquí.

2014 Donal Nevin Lecture focuses on investment-driven growth, job creation

International Financial Expert, Prof Stephany Griffith-Jones, says public investment banks could boost growth and job creation

The need for increased investment through a new approach to banking in Ireland was a key theme of the Nevin Economic Research Institute’s (NERI) second annual Donal Nevin lecture delivered on Wednesday (28th May) by Professor Stephany Griffith-Jones, Financial Markets Director at the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University.


Pictured at the Nevin Lecture were (l-r): ICTU General Secretary David Begg, Director of NERI Tom Healy, Professor Stephany Griffith-Jones and SIPTU Vice President Patricia King.


The need for increased investment through a new approach to banking in Ireland was a key theme of the Nevin Economic Research Institute’s (NERI) second annual Donal Nevin lecture delivered this afternoon by Professor Stephany Griffith-Jones, Financial Markets Director at the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University.

Professor Griffith-Jones focused on the role public investment banks, such as Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) in Germany, can play in boosting Ireland’s economic recovery, and made specific proposals on how investment focussed promotional banks can increase levels of growth and job creation.

Speaking before the event, Professor Griffith-Jones said:

“Public investment banks provide the vision and long-term finance that help sustain investment, innovation and job creation particularly when private lending on its own is not sufficient.”
“A significant level of lending is required for public investment banks to have a positive impact on the economy. In Germany the state owned KfW bank accounts for 12.7% of total bank credit in the domestic economy”, Prof Griffith-Jones added.

Welcoming Professor Griffith-Jones, NERI Director Dr Tom Healy noted the recent commitment to increase lending to SMEs through the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland.

“In the context of the current housing crisis, we should look at options for using a state investment bank to finance a large scale social housing programme.  Investment in this area would help address a basic social need while having a positive impact on the economy”, Dr Healy said.
Jimmy's Hall



Public Interview with Jimmy's Hall film director Ken Loach

Petition against the the EU/Colombian FTA
Ratification of the EU/Colombian Free Trade Agreement will be before the Dáil in the coming weeks. Please add your name to this petition to tell our TD’s and senators that it is the wrong time to approve this agreement.
Ratification of the EU/Colombian Free Trade Agreement will be before the Dáil in the coming weeks. Please add your name to this petition to tell our TD’s and senators that it is the wrong time to approve this agreement.

Murders, disappearances; threats and intimidation of trade unionists, human rights defenders and lawyers continue unabated. Colombia is still the most dangerous place in the world to be a trade unionist.

Neither has anything changed for the thousands of small farmers who have returned to their homes to reclaim the land they were forcibly removed from. Despite the recent legislation, local paramilitaries continue to force people away, despite state military presence in many areas, suggesting the army is in league with these illegal groups.

High aspirations of believing that “trade” with the EU will lead to a change in conditions on the ground in Colombia cannot be sustained against the clear evidence to the contrary. The root cause of the civil conflict in Colombia is an agrarian conflict. This FTA does not resolve this and, in fact, creates an even greater impetus for a further “land-grab”, transferring the control of the land and the resources beneath, illegally to multinational companies or large local conglomerates. We believe such a move will severely undermine the Peace Talks in Havana.
 
http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/tds-and-senators-of-the-irish-government-take-a-stand-for-human-rights-do-not-ratify-the-eu-free-trade-agreement-with-colombia
ITF briefs New York investors to highlight Chevron concerns
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) held an investor briefing with United States Stock Exchange analysts in New York on Tuesday 27th May to explain why energy giant Chevron’s Gorgon project in north-western Australia is over-budget and delayed.

Chevron, get your head out of the sand!


The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) held an investor briefing with United States Stock Exchange analysts in New York on Tuesday 27th May to explain why energy giant Chevron’s Gorgon project in north-western Australia is over-budget and delayed.
 
The ITF is working closely with its affiliate, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), as part of a global campaign to build awareness over delays and cost overruns on the project which was originally costed at USD37 billion but has now blown out to USD54 billion.
 
Local company management and business lobby groups have unfairly blamed the MUA for problems on the Gorgon project, as the union seeks to negotiate a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement for maritime workers working in the offshore oil and gas sector.
 
A new report, released today offers a thorough analysis of the project's issues to date.

Download the report from http://www.nationalinterest.com.au.
 
Watch a video about Chevron mismanagement of the Gorgon project at http://youtu.be/OIKRVjxiYuA.
Join the fight against low pay at Autogrill Germany
Workers at 5 Autogrill service station outlets have been taking indefinite strike action for better pay since 16 April.The Company is currently paying new employees €7.00 per hour in east Germany and €8.00 in west Germany. Click here to send a message to Autogrill, demanding the company concludes a fair collective agreement with its workforce in Germany.
Workers at 5 Autogrill service station outlets have been taking indefinite strike action for better pay since 16 April.The Company is currently paying new employees €7.00 per hour in east Germany and €8.00 in west Germany. Click here to send a message to Autogrill, demanding the company concludes a fair collective agreement with its workforce in Germany.

The Autogrill Group with its head office in Milan, Italy, has approximately 75,000 employees. This giant TNC is not prepared to conclude a collective agreement with IUF affiliate the NGG, that provides for wages above €8.50 per hour, the future minimum wage in Germany.
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LIBERTY VIEW
Government must reaffirm its commitment to manufacturing sector
 
LibertyHall

The announcement of 200 job cuts at the Bausch and Lomb/Valeant manufacturing facility in Waterford is a further blow to a region already devastated by unemployment.

Several large manufacturing plants have closed in the south-east in recent years notably the Waterford Crystal plant and thousands of workers have lost quality jobs.

While the Government has insisted that protecting manufacturing employment is a priority, it is evident that efforts to replace the jobs lost over recent years have been singularly unsuccessful.


The announcement of 200 job cuts at the Bausch and Lomb/Valeant manufacturing facility in Waterford is a further blow to a region already devastated by unemployment.

Several large manufacturing plants have closed in the south-east in recent years notably the Waterford Crystal plant and thousands of workers have lost quality jobs.

While the Government has insisted that protecting manufacturing employment is a priority, it is evident that efforts to replace the jobs lost over recent years have been singularly unsuccessful.

If there is to be any prospect of creating a sustainable economy based on the creation of well paid, high quality employment it has to include a viable and vibrant manufacturing sector.

It is our view that the government must reaffirm its intention to promote manufacturing and to encourage existing employers in the industry to ensure that their primary responsibility is to retain existing jobs while striving to generate new ones.

ECONOMY
A new State Development Bank is welcome
 
Tom Healy, Director NERI
Tom Healy, Director NERI

The announcement by Government of the establishment of a Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) is a very welcome development. The timescale for its establishment, its mode of operation and delivery and the scale and impact of that delivery will be vital to an assessment of the impact of SBCI. The Programme for Government agreed in 2011 by the incoming Government committed to the following:


The announcement by Government of the establishment of a Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) is a very welcome development. The timescale for its establishment, its mode of operation and delivery and the scale and impact of that delivery will be vital to an assessment of the impact of SBCI. The Programme for Government agreed in 2011 by the incoming Government committed to the following:

‘We will create a Strategic Investment Bank that will become a provider of finance to large capital projects, a conduit for venture capital and a lender to SMEs.’

The announcement of the SBCI appears to signal that this commitment may be implemented in the not too distant future. The mention of ‘Bank’ may come as a surprise as it was widely thought that the original intention to establish a ‘Strategic Investment Bank’ had been watered down to the establishment of a Ireland Strategic Investment Fund housed in the National Treasury Management Agency. Legislation to establish this Fund has been published.

The new bank will be funded from capital provided by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the German state development bank KfW (the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) to give its full title). The involvement by the latter is of interest given the inclusion of the following sentence in the recent Government statement:

The involvement of KfW follows directly from discussion between the Taoiseach and Chancellor Merkel following Ireland’s successful exit from the EU/IMF Programme on finding ways to reinforce Ireland’s economic recovery.

The establishment of a new Irish investment bank – especially one that is a state investment bank – is viewed with caution and even hostility by some commentators. These critics do not see any significant role for such a new institution since, it is claimed:

  • Ireland’s capital stock is more than adequate in terms of roads, airports and railways
  • Any lending body under the control of the state is liable to be used for ‘pork barrel’ politics especially in the run up to a general election where local and national constituency interests might prevail over economic rationale
  • The key to economic recovery is entirely located in private investment and export led-growth and not domestically primed investment in projects of questionable worth; and
  • Ireland has enough banks and some of these are a drain on public finances and liabilities as matters stand.

An additional, but ill-informed, objection is sometimes raised that the Government is raiding the ‘people’s pension fund’ to invest money in white elephants (in fact the pension fund was raided many times over in 2009-2010 to recapitalise banks with the ultimate effect of penalising taxpayers so that bondholders could be paid back).

READ FULL REPORT HERE

Global Labour Column - Lessons learned for a European minimum wage campaign
With the upcoming European elections, political parties on the left like the Party of European Socialists, the European Left and the European Green party are paying lip service to the call for a European minimum wage policy (European Green Party, 2010; European Left, 2014; PES, 2012). Such a policy would serve as a first step in the development of a more social Europe, enhance the legitimacy of the Union and could contribute to a wage-driven growth model for Europe. In this column we do not go into detail about the economic and social aspects of such a policy, but focus on the campaigning for a European minimum wage. A European minimum wage policy would mean a radical shift in the policy orientation of the Union and by consequence, the campaign for such a policy will be long and exhausting. Luckily, the European left can learn from two very recent and largely successful minimum wage campaigns in Europe: Germany and Switzerland. In Switzerland the campaign is still running while in Germany the current coalition is planning to implement a legal minimum wage in 2015.
With the upcoming European elections, political parties on the left like the Party of European Socialists, the European Left and the European Green party are paying lip service to the call for a European minimum wage policy (European Green Party, 2010; European Left, 2014; PES, 2012). Such a policy would serve as a first step in the development of a more social Europe, enhance the legitimacy of the Union and could contribute to a wage-driven growth model for Europe. In this column we do not go into detail about the economic and social aspects of such a policy, but focus on the campaigning for a European minimum wage. A European minimum wage policy would mean a radical shift in the policy orientation of the Union and by consequence, the campaign for such a policy will be long and exhausting. Luckily, the European left can learn from two very recent and largely successful minimum wage campaigns in Europe: Germany and Switzerland. In Switzerland the campaign is still running while in Germany the current coalition is planning to implement a legal minimum wage in 2015.

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Young Workers Network

SIPTU Basic English Scheme


Supporting Quality campaign

10% discount for SIPTU members from Taxback.com

Larkin Credit Union

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Family annual travel insurance reduced to €55.54

Bloomfield House Hotel

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Win for Stobart workers

In a significant decision, trucking company, Stobart, has been ordered to compensate eighteen SIPTU members who were denied their rights when they transferred their employment from the food distributor Keelings in October 2010.


In a significant decision, trucking company, Stobart, has been ordered to compensate eighteen SIPTU members who were denied their rights when they transferred their employment from the food distributor Keelings in October 2010.

The Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) reversed an earlier Rights Commissioner decision which found against the union when it unsuccessfully argued the workers were entitled under Transfer of Undertakings legislation to the same terms and conditions of employment as they enjoyed with Keelings.

The EAT determination set aside the Rights Commissioner finding of late 2011 and has now ordered that a Transfer of Undertakings did take place after all. This means the eighteen members have to be compensated for any losses arising out of Stobart’s non-adherence to their terms and conditions of employment and the Collective Agreement since they took over in late 2010.

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