SIPTU Home Helps and their supporters from across the midlands marched on Wednesday (21st November), in Tullamore to protest against cuts to Home Help services.
The workers marched to the HSE Offices and handed in a petition, containing over 10,000 signatures, calling on the agency to reverse its decision to implement massive cutbacks in Home Help hours.
Over 200 SIPTU Home Helps and their supporters from across the midlands marched in Tullamore on Wednesday, 21st November, as part of the 'Time to Care' campaign.
This film was made by SIPTU Campaigns to support the Union’s ‘New Course Campaign’ and has been shared widely on social media since it went online earlier this week. SIPTU activists around the country are currently lobbying TDs and other public representatives of all parties and asking them to support our 10 demands for economic growth and job creation contained in the ‘Towards a New Course’pamphlet.
Facebook abusers receive heavy fines at Dublin college
Five students at a Dublin third level college have had fines of up to €1000 and community service penalties imposed on them following their alleged homophobic abuse of a college lecturer on Facebook.
The lecturer in the college had to struggle with her employer for action to be taken in response to homophobic abuse posted on a Facebook page associated with the institution.
The worker, who wishes to remain anonymous, became aware of the abusive posts when she received a letter from a student at the end of May this year.
SIPTU Home Helps and their supporters from across the west of Ireland will march on Sunday (25th November), in Castlebar to protest against cuts to Home Help services.
The workers will assemble in the Chapel Car Park, Chapel Street, at 1.30 p.m. and march to the market square.
SIPTU Organiser, Annette Carpenter, said: “Minister for Health, James Reilly, is cutting Home Help services by a further 600,000 hours to the detriment of clients in receipt of care and the workers whose hours and take home pay have been drastically cut.”
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Donegal Home Helps to march in Castlebar on Sunday
SIPTU Home Helps and their supporters from Donegal and across the west of Ireland will march on Sunday, 25th November, in Castlebar to protest against cuts to Home Help services. The workers will assemble in the Chapel car park, Chapel Street, at 1.30 p.m. and march to the market square.
SIPTU Organiser, Martin O’Rourke said: “We are calling on Home Help workers, their families and supporters throughout Donegal to join the march and send a clear message to the HSE that these cuts must be reversed. Already this year 500,000 hours have been taken out of the home help service and care workers and their clients are suffering. The plan to implement a further cut of 600,000 hours is bad for workers and bad for clients.
SIPTU and INMO condemn closure of Rickard House in Blackrock
SIPTU and the INMO have condemned the announcement by the Daughters of Charity that the Order intends to close Rickard House in Blackrock, Co. Dublin, with the loss of 45 jobs.
The facility provides care to 27 retired members of the Daughters of Charity.
The Israeli government has once again abused its overwhelming military superiority in its latest assault on the people of Gaza, SIPTU General President, Jack O’Connor has said. While he welcomed the ceasefire announced on Wednesday (21st November) he said;
“Over recent days, there has been a complete disregard by the government and defence forces of Israel for civilian life in the Gaza strip where the people are already suffering intolerably from an unjust economic blockade.
SIPTU disappointed at An Bord Pleanála's decision to refuse planning permission for re-development of Liberty Hall
SIPTU has expressed its deep disappointment at An Bord Pleanála’s decision on Friday (16th November) to refuse planning permission for the redevelopment of Liberty Hall.
“The union, our architects and professional advisors have put five years hard work into this project including an enormous amount of consultation with Dublin City Council, our members and other key stakeholders including the local community and their public representatives. Given that the City Council saw fit earlier this year to grant us planning permission for the redevelopment of Liberty Hall we are extremely disappointed that this decision has now been overturned by An Bord Pleanála,” SIPTU’s General Secretary, Joe O’Flynn said.
SIPTU members accept mediation proposals in Aer Lingus/DAA pension scheme crisis
SIPTU members at Aer Lingus decided to call off industrial action planned for Monday (19th November) and enter discussions on a resolution to the crisis in the Aer Lingus/Dublin Airport Authority pension scheme after receiving clarification of mediation proposals by IBEC and the ICTU.
Speaking after a meeting of union representatives at the airport on Wednesday (14th November), SIPTU Sector Organiser, Dermot O’Loughlin, said that the meeting of the Industrial Action Committee had discussed clarifications and assurances obtained from ICTU and IBEC on their recent mediation proposals.
Car dealer ordered to pay €72,000 over unfair dismissal
A company owned by 'motivation' speaker and entrepreneur, Brian Mordaunt, was ordered to pay €72,000 to a former employee over its "wholly unacceptable" treatment of her during her pregnancy.
The Employment Appeals Tribunal said it was reasonable that the claimant, Jennifer Beary of Kilsheelan, Co. Tipperary, had left her job at the car dealership in light of the treatment she had received at the hands of her employer.
From your calls and enquiries, we know that some of you are interested in participating in a street demonstration to say ‘No’ to any more cuts to services and supports for older people in the upcoming Budget.
The Dublin Council of Trade Unions is organising a pre-Budget demonstration in Dublin on Saturday, November 24th. The Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, a member of the Older and Bolder alliance, will be taking part in the demonstration. If you want to join the demonstration, you can link up with the group from the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament who will be gathering in:
Cathal Brugha St., Dublin 1 at 12.45 p.m. on Saturday, November 24th.
The planned changes to the social welfare system in the upcoming budget will lock women in a triple burden of care, domestic work and precarious employment if their needs are not addressed, a new report by the National Women’s Council and SIPTU shows. Joan Burton TD, Minister for Social Protection will launch the research study “Careless to Careful Activation: Making Activation Work For Women” on Thursday (2nd November).
Pictured at the launch of the Report are (l-r): Orla O'Connor, Mary Murphy, Ethel Buckley and Suzanne Griffin.
Threatened cuts to public services in the forthcoming budget should motivate those who have witnessed the impact of previous slash and burn remedies on the most vulnerable in our communities to join the protest organised by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions on Saturday (24th November).
SIPTU members in the community and voluntary and health sectors, in particular, have organised for a big turn-out for the pre-Budget protest in order to demonstrate that alternatives to the current one-sided austerity approach are both feasible and necessary as outlined in the detailed strategies for jobs and growth advocated by SIPTU and Congress over many months.
Freeze Austerity as part of Blueprint for Recovery
Congress General Secretary David Begg said the Government should freeze all austerity measures ‘for at least 12 months’, as part of a new Blueprint for Recovery designed to stimulate growth and create new jobs.
Addressing the TEEU conference in Portlaoise on Friday (16th November), Begg said: “If we were wise we would put a hold on austerity measures for at least this year to allow some growth back into the economy.”
We would make saving and creating jobs, and growing the economy, a government priority
We would make a €3.5 billion adjustment and reduce the deficit to 7.5%
We would protect the tax rate and bands of all those earning below €100k
We would increase tax on those earning over €100k
We would not support the government’s proposed property tax
We would ask the very wealthy to contribute a special 1% tax
We would protect Child Benefit
We would end waste in public spending
We would protect health, education, vital frontline services and welfare payments
We would halt the flow of taxpayers’ money into banks
We would work for an all-island solution to the economic crisis
In our alternative budget, we will show how the exchequer deficit can be tackled in 2013 without targeting families and public services or preventing the creation of jobs.
Global Labour Column – Collective Bargaining or Collective Begging?
A case of the public sector in Zimbabwe
In this week’s article, Taurai Mereki analyses the state of collective bargaining in the public sector in Zimbabwe. Using different examples of state-owned enterprises, Mereki argues that while collective bargaining is provided for in labour legislation, certain contradictory factors such as the Labour Minister’s powers to register (or not) Collective Bargaining Agreements leads to restrictions to workers’ bargaining power. Taurai Mereki is the Vice President of the Communication and Allied Services Workers Union of Zimbabwe. He is also an alumnus of the Global Labour University programme at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Call for legislation to make all pension charges transparent
Workers are still finding it impossible to access all the costs involved in funding their pensions because pension providers are not legally obliged to disclose charges, Rachael Ryan of SIPTU’s Legal Department told the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) conference in Portlaoise on Friday (16th November).
“Union members in Defined Benefit schemes are generally better off on every level “, she said. “They tend to be the larger companies and trustees have more control. But every day I am dealing with members who send in statements to me with no details of the charges. These can account to as much as 52% of funds that range from investment fund charges, to administration fees, and consultancy fees to charges for annual reports.
Don't Be Afraid to Call If You Are Afraid of Someone Close
Women's Aid has marked the 20th year of its National Freephone Helpline by launching its new 'Don't Be Afraid' national public awareness advertising campaign. The campaign encourages women living with domestic abuse to speak up and to call the Women's Aid National Freephone Helpline 1800 341 900.
New study reveals 40% of Migrant Care Workers feel discriminated against
A new study carried out by Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) has identified that 40% of migrant care workers experience discrimination in their workplace. The study, which was discussed at a seminar in Dublin on Monday (19th November), also points to worrying levels of non-compliance with basic employment law.
120 care workers participated in the report from over 11 different national and ethnic origins. The discrimination identified included racial abuse, unfair allocation of tasks and jobs, and not being allowed to join a trade union. Anele Jakiel a care worker stated “if you speak out as a migrant worker about poor conditions you are sometimes told to go back to your home country or join the dole queue. This leaves us with very little choice but to put up with poor conditions of employment”
The European Economic & Social Committee’s plenary meeting in Brussels on 14th and 15th November coincided on its first day with the Belgian unions’ day of action against austerity. Accordingly, our EESC Workers’ Group meeting was adjourned so that we could join the protest outside the European Commission headquarters. Stirring speeches in both French and Flemish were delivered by leaders of the various Belgian Union Confederations, as well by the ETUC General Secretary. Particularly noteworthy at this demonstration was the strong Spanish union presence from both the Comisiones Obreras and the UGT, many carrying Spanish Republican flags, an indication of the deep divisions opening up in Spanish society as a consequence of relentlessly vicious austerity.
"Even the Rain" to be screened on BBC4 on Sunday, 25th November at 10 p.m.
For those who missed the Bolivian Information Forum (BIF) Special Preview Screening of "Even the Rain" earlier this year, the film will be broadcast on BBC4 this Sunday, 25th November at 10 p.m.
Brief Description: Even the Rain is an insightful, fascinating film within a film, powerful and rich with symbolism, highlighting the ongoing struggles and cycle of exploitation of the South American indigenous peoples 500 years after Columbus’s conquest. Starring Gael Garcia Bernal (The Motorcylce Diaries, Amores Perros) and Luis Tosar (2 times winner of Best Actor at the Goya awards) and written by award-winning screenwriter Paul Laverty (Sweet Sixteen, The Wind that Shakes the Barley), the film is a heady mix of politics, religion, art and history. Even the Rain features outstanding performances from Bernal, Tosar and notably Juan Carlos Aduviri, an indigenous Bolivian actor who was nominated for a Goya for his role.
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Justice for Colombia Delegation Huge Success
On Saturday (10th November), a JFC organised delegation of senior politicians and trade union leaders from Northern Ireland arrived back after 6 days in Colombia. The group, including representatives from the DUP, UUP, Sinn Féin, SDLP parties and trade unions spent the week meeting with victims groups, trade unions, politicians from all parties, former FARC hostages, prisoners and hearing testimony from peasant farmers, indigenous and afrocolombians in Cauca region – described as the epicentre of the Colombian conflict.
"As part of the preparation for the centenary of the 1916 rising the National Graves Association has made a commitment to refurbish the 1916 monument at the St. Paul’s section of Glasnevin Cemetery. We need to raise in excess of €100,000 to complete this project before 2016. Renowned Irish artist, Robert Ballagh enthusiastically agreed to help with the fund raising effort by producing an appropriate work of art. He decided to rework in his own style, the iconic image “Birth of the Irish Republic” by Walter Paget and produce limited edition prints. The prints will be limited to 300 copies only, signed and numbered by Robert Ballagh. The cost of each print is €350 plus €10 p&p within Ireland, to order a copy please contact Aidan Lambert 087-6202680, donations@nga.ie or Matt Doyle 087-2282033, matt@nga.ie.
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