Trade unionists in Dunnes Stores have promised to escalate their campaign for decent working conditions following management’s targeting for retribution workers who took part in a nationwide one-day strike.

The strike by over 5,000 Mandate members on Thursday (2nd April), was widely supported by the public and other trade unions. Workers decided to take strike action following Dunnes Stores refusal to negotiation with their union concerning working conditions.   

Members of the new SIPTU Health Care Sector were addressed by the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, at their first conference in Dublin on Thursday (26th March).

Sector Organiser Marie Butler said that the new sector for health care assistants has been set up in response to the growing demand for representation for this group of ‘hands on’ health workers. She also set out a list of proposals that would lead to the professionalisation of the ‘Health Care Assistant’ across the Irish health service.  

A major rally will be held outside of the Department of Health in Dublin on Thursday, 30th April, as part of the SIPTU Health Division campaign for greater investment in healthcare services and workers.  

Bord na Móna (BNM) workers and their union representatives met with TDs in Leinster House, Dublin 2, on Wednesday (15th April), to present their position concerning the ongoing dispute arising from attempts by the company to impose changes to workers conditions of employment.  

Former Ulster Bank workers staged a lunchtime protest on Wednesday, (15th April), at Ulster Bank Head Quarters, Georges Quay, Dublin 2 to highlight the non-implementation of a Labour Court recommendation in relation to their redundancy terms.

Political and trade union activists from across the island attended a one-day conference on the future of Palestine in Liberty Hall on Saturday, 28th March.
 

The Government must act to end the imposition of zero-hour contracts on home helps working for voluntary sector organisations which are funded by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to provide public health care schemes, according to the SIPTU Health Division.

“In recent weeks we have engaged with the HSE on this issue,” said SIPTU Health Division Organiser, Paul Bell. “It is apparent that the HSE is aware that vulnerable workers are being exploited by the imposition of zero-hour contracts.”  

A survey of the working lives of the under 35s, conducted by the Young Workers Network (YWN), has revealed that nearly 90% struggle to make ends meet with zero-hour contracts and low pay the norm for many.

A proposal received from the management of Aer Lingus in relation to the guaranteeing of workers’ terms and conditions of employment in the event of a takeover by IAG  does not adequately deal with their concerns.

SIPTU Sector Organiser, Owen Reidy, said: “The union received a response from Aer Lingus Chief Executive, Stephen Kavanagh, to our request that the company enters into a legally binding agreement that would protect workers conditions of employment and jobs in the event of an IAG takeover of the airline.  

A SIPTU member’s claim against Ard Eoin Kickhams GAC for failure to pay her statutory redundancy entitlements will be heard by the Industrial Tribunal in Belfast on Friday, 17th April.

The case involves the Belfast GAA club’s former bar manager, Cathy McMahon, who was employed for 25 years until her post was declared redundant on 23rd October 2014.  

An historic press conference between Presidents Raúl Castro and Barack Obama took place on Saturday, 11th April during the Summit of the Americas in Panama. It marked the first meeting between a president of Cuba and the US for more than 50 years, and Cuba’s first ever attendance.

Historic handshake between Raúl Castro and Barack Obama

A full clinical review by an agreed independent expert to examine proposals for the operation of a new psychiatric unit on the campus of Cork University Hospital, Cork City, has been demanded by SIPTU.  

Management at the Lagan Brick plant in Drumgill, Kingscourt, county Cavan, signed a pre-production agreement with SIPTU on Wednesday, 25th March, in advance of the re-opening of the facility.  

Irish Equity passed a motion at its Annual General Meeting on Sunday, 29th March, calling for a moratorium on proposed cuts to the funding of the cultural sector in Northern Ireland.

The motion also sent “solidarity and support” to the members of Equity Northern Ireland who are “opposing these dreadful cuts to the arts, particularly to theatre, now being proposed.”  

SIPTU members in the Retained Fire Services have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action, including strike action, in a dispute related to attempts to decrease fire appliance crewing levels, at ballots counted on Friday, 20th March.

The decision of Pfizer to continue production at its Little Island plant, county Cork, and provide continued job security for up to 160 workers has been supported by SIPTU members.

Staff at the facility were informed during March that the pharmaceutical manufacturer had reversed its decision to close the plant. Its closure had initially been announced in May 2013, with production scheduled to cease in September 2014. This closure date had been extended to the autumn 2015 before the decision was finally reversed.  

Industrial action at University Hospital Galway (UHG) has been deferred pending implementation of an agreement for the facility to secure additional nurses and support staff cover.

SIPTU Organiser Mark Lohan said: “This decision, following Labour Relations Commission facilitated talks between union representatives and the hospital management, vindicates our position that having so many patients on trolleys, both in the Emergency Department and on the wards, is totally unacceptable.  

A new initiative in the training of activists in the Community Sector has been rolled out. The first group involved in this new strategic development participated in the first stage of their training at SIPTU College from 31st March to 2nd April.


The above activists represented a wide and diverse group of employments in the Community Sector and include the Irish Wheelchair Association, Blanchardstown 2001 Job Initiative, Adapt Community Drugs, Limerick Community Development Project, Westmeath Community Project, Longford Community Resources, Donegal Travellers Project, Athlone Y.E.W. Ltd and North Tipperary Leader Partnership.

At 11.00 a.m. on Tuesday, 5th May, St. Patrick’s Church, Ringsend, Dublin 4, will host an ecumenical service of remembrance and reclamation for approximately 40 children between the ages of two and sixteen who were killed during the Easter Rising of 1916. The service will be attended by President Michael D. Higgins. All welcome.

From History Ireland: Joe Duffy on the children killed in the Easter Rising. This includes the names and details of 30 children who were killed.

The on-going dispute at Dunnes Stores has highlighted the scandal of low pay and insecure employment in this country, which has the second highest number of low paid workers in the OECD.

Dunnes Stores has also the largest number of workers in any Irish company in receipt of family income supplements which represents a subsidy by the State to an employer who is clearly exploiting much of its workforce.

Many workers complain that the minimum 15 hour contracts they are forced to accept prevents them from obtaining bank or credit union loans and from securing rental accommodation or mortgages. They are also fighting for the right to union recognition in the company.

The situation is not unique to Ireland and on Wednesday (15th April) tens of thousands of workers protested against low pay and precarious work in the global ‘Fight for 15' ($15 per hour) campaign for a minimum wage in the fast food industry.

For the past decades, in many countries of the world, the State has slowly retreated amidst the belief that by giving more space to market forces there would be greater economic growth and thus greater economic opportunities. This belief was manifest in the drive to liberalise goods and financial markets in the 1980s and 1990s across the world, and in the decreased investment by the public sector of many advanced economies in public services and goods as well as in redistributive policies.

In a seminar on 8th April, NERI Director, Tom Healy, focused on setting the parameters for a clear, long-term vision for the Irish economy to emerge. The seminar is based on the NERI working paper - A Social Vision and an Economic Strategy for Ireland in the 21st Century- that argues this vision must be based on concrete goals that can be observed, measured and contrasted—as opposed to pious aspirations. The paper is not intended as a blueprint or model that is to be rolled out, but as a contribution to a debate on our economic future.