In this issue:
O’Connor calls for unity in relation to Croke Park proposals
SIPTU President expresses regret at death of Hugo Chavez
SIPTU members in Bus Éireann vote overwhelmingly to reject LRC proposals
BCD Travel employees working with Kerry Group vote for strike action
SIPTU members meet management over planned closure of MSD plant in Wicklow
SIPTU national officers to take pay cuts in line with LRC proposals
Youth workers in Dublin begin campaign to defend jobs and services
“Communities First” Campaign to Defend Jobs and Services
Rally for X case legalisation
Old Darnley Lodge sit-in to end on Friday
Galway school bus drivers’ dispute settled
SIPTU representatives support Cork and Wexford members protesting outside pharmacies
SIPTU Joint Labour Committee Submission
Public service achieves the 3% jobs target for people with disabilities for the first time
MANDATE Trade Union
Revised Croke Park proposals huge challenge to trade union movement
Why is there a sudden need for an additional one billion cut in Irish public sector pay?
Minister Creighton quizzed on UK Sterling Competitive Devaluation and Need for Eurobonds
Social Inclusion Forum 2013
Right to Work and Michigan Labour
A Site of Struggle: Organised Labour and Domestic Worker Organising in Mozambique
New abusive measure against one of the Cuban Five
Labour Women
International Women's Day
Fuel Poverty Conference
SIPTU Solidarity with Cuba Forum
The James Plunkett Short Story Award
Larkin Credit Union
Supporting Quality Campaign
SIPTU Basic English Scheme
No Mum Should Be Alone on Mother's Day
Travel Insurance
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O’Connor calls for unity in relation to Croke Park proposals


SIPTU President Jack O’Connor has said that workers in the public service would be better served by one centralised agreement with the Government on pay and conditions.

Responding to media reports of so-called ‘sweeteners’ on offer to members of some unions if they agree to the Labour Relations Commission proposals on a new Public Service Agreement, O’Connor, said: “I don’t think anyone should get better deals than anyone else. "I'm not sure the proposals, as they stand, are adequate. But I am sure that everyone who works in the public service is better off with an agreement which protects them against redundancy, which protects them against the outsourcing of their jobs.

"That's why I supported the Croke Park Agreement (in 2010) when it was going down in flames."

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SIPTU President expresses regret at death of Hugo Chavez

SIPTU General President, Jack O’Connor, has expressed his deep regret at the tragic death of the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez.

“I want to express my deep regret at the death of Hugo Chavez whose passing is a tragedy for the Venezuelan people and the oppressed and downtrodden of Latin America and the wider world.”

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SIPTU members in Bus Éireann vote overwhelmingly to reject LRC proposals
SIPTU members in Bus Éireann voted on Thursday (7th March) by a margin of almost nine to one to reject proposals presented by the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) to change the terms and conditions of their employment.

SIPTU Sector Organiser, Willie Noone, said: “SIPTU members at Bus Éireann have decided to overwhelmingly reject these proposals, with 89% of those balloted voting against their acceptance.”
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BCD Travel employees working with Kerry Group vote for strike action
SIPTU members employed by BCD Travel, which manages corporate travel arrangements for the Kerry Group, have voted unanimously on Wednesday (6th March) to undertake industrial action, including the withdrawal of labour, in a dispute concerning the implementation of compulsory redundancies by the company.
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SIPTU members meet management over planned closure of MSD plant in Wicklow
SIPTU members in MSD, Rathdrum, county Wicklow, were informed today (Thursday, 7th March) that the plant will close by the end of 2015 with the expected loss of 280 jobs.

According to SIPTU Organiser, Frank Jones, workers were also informed that there would be no redundancies before the end of 2014.
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SIPTU national officers to take pay cuts in line with LRC proposals
The national officers of SIPTU will be taking a further pay reduction in line with the proposals which have emerged from discussions on the Croke Park (Public Service) Agreement. In a statement on Tuesday (26th February), SIPTU General President, Jack O’Connor, Vice-President, Patricia King, and General Secretary, Joe O’Flynn said:

“It is our view that people on higher incomes should have made a contribution through taxation in Budget 2013. We have specifically argued for a levy on those earning in excess of €100,000 per annum.
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Youth workers in Dublin begin campaign to defend jobs and services
In late February the City of Dublin Youth Services Board (CDYSB) informed six projects that their funding would be cut by €600,000.

Dublin youth worker, Aishling Golden, said; “Youth services provide a vital safety net for vulnerable young people in many communities. These cuts will lead to a reduction in the numbers of professional staff in the service, which will result in some projects closing and a reduction in the effectiveness of others.”


Over 200 workers protested at the CDYSB offices on Morehampton Road, Dublin on Friday (1st March)
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“Communities First” Campaign to Defend Jobs and Services

SIPTU Community workers have launched a new campaign to defend vital services from government plans to cut, outsource and close key parts of the sector.

SIPTU Sector Organiser Darragh O’Connor explained: “Plans announced by the Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan will dismantle existing structures for key community services. 'Our Communities First' campaign has been established in response to these proposals to defend thousands of workers who now face an uncertain future.”

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Rally for X case legalisation

Several hundred people attended a rally at the Central Bank, Dublin, on Monday (4th March) calling on the Government to legislate for the X case before the summer.

SIPTU was among 100 civil society organisations, trade unions, politicians and academics that supported the evening demonstration.


Several hundred people took part in a Pro Choice march, organised by 'Action on X ' from the Central Bank to the EU Health Ministers meeting in Dublin Castle on Monday, 4th March.
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Old Darnley Lodge sit-in to end on Friday
The Old Darnley Lodge workers are ending their sit-in at the hotel in Athboy, Co. Meath, on Friday (8th March) at 11.30 a.m., following the payment of their redundancy entitlements.

Old Darnley Lodge SIPTU Shop Steward, Eileen Quinn, said: “The workers are happy that they can end the sit-in with their heads held high after securing the payment of their redundancy entitlements and a commitment from the State’s insolvency fund that all other monies owed to them will be paid in the coming days.
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Galway school bus drivers’ dispute settled

SIPTU school bus drivers in the Galway area have reached agreement with Bus Éireann, bringing an end to a dispute which had threatened to result in strike action.

SIPTU Transport Sector Organiser, Willie Noone, said: “Following meetings between union representatives and management, agreement was reached concerning issues relating to hours of work and pay.”

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SIPTU representatives support Cork and Wexford members protesting outside pharmacies

SIPTU representatives supported protests by workers at Roches Pharmacy, Gorey, Co. Wexford and Crowley's Pharmacy in Cork city.

Staff decided to protest outside the store to highlight their frustration with the management’s refusal to negotiate with their union, SIPTU. The protests took place in Gorey on Tuesday (5th March) and in Cork on Thursday (7th March).

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SIPTU Joint Labour Committee Submission
Workers from low paid sectors gathered at the Labour Court, Dublin, on Friday (1st March) to call for the protection from exploitation through the reinstatement of the Joint Labour Committee system.

SIPTU National Executive Council member Bernie Casey said: “All SIPTU members stand in solidarity with low paid workers demanding that they are fully protected in their jobs by the immediate reinstatement of the JLC system.”
 

Pictured is SIPTU National Executive Council member, Bernie Casey, presenting Frances Gaynor of the Labour Relations Commission with the SIPTU Submission to the Review of the JLCs.
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Public service achieves the 3% jobs target for people with disabilities for the first time

By Siobhán Barron

For over 35 years it has been Government policy that at least 3% of those employed in the public service should be people with disabilities. The Disability Act 2005 put this employment target on a statutory basis.

The 3% target is a positive action measure to ensure that people with disabilities can get jobs, or stay in their jobs, in the public sector. This is against a backdrop where, even during the economic boom, people with disabilities were twice as likely to be out of work as the general population.

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MANDATE Trade Union
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Revised Croke Park proposals huge challenge to trade union movement
 
LibertyHall

There is no doubt that the proposals for a revised agreement for workers in the public service represent a huge challenge for SIPTU members and the wider trade union movement.

Faced with a Troika insistence on securing a further €1billion reduction in public spending over the next three years, intense negotiations between unions and public service management have resulted in the latest set of proposals from the Labour Relations Commission.

Each union member will have an opportunity to vote on the proposals based on how they affect their pay and conditions of employment.

It is our view that workers in the public service are better served by one centralised agreement with the Government and by arrangements which protect them against redundancy and the outsourcing of their jobs.

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Why is there a sudden need for an additional one billion cut in Irish public sector pay?

By Roland Erne

While nominal labour unit costs in Germany rose by 5.9 %, and 8.1 % in the UK during the last three years, Irish labour unit costs fell by 12.2 % during the same period due to the imposition of wage cuts (especially in the public sector) and a significant increase of the productivity of Irish employees. Compared to the Irish, across the entire EU only Latvian workers faced a bigger labour unit cost losses (-15 %) according to official EU statistics (European Commission 2012: 24).    

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Minister Creighton quizzed on UK Sterling Competitive Devaluation and Need for Eurobonds
On 14th February last the Minister of State for European Affairs, Lucinda Creighton, addressed a plenary session of the European Economic and Social Committee on the priorities of the Irish Presidency of the EU. She was quizzed on the threat to Irish economic recovery from a competitive devaluation of sterling and reminded of her own previous support for Eurobonds as a necessary instrument in Eurozone economic recovery. Manus O’Riordan of the EESC Workers’s Group reports.
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Social Inclusion Forum 2013

The Social Inclusion Forum is part of the structures put in place by the Government to support the development and implementation of its plans to address poverty and social exclusion. The event provides a forum for wider public consultation and discussion on social inclusion issues, particularly with people experiencing poverty and social exclusion and the groups that work with them. SIF 2013 will take place on 26th March in Croke Park. To register please email social.inclusion@welfare.ie

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Right to Work and Michigan Labour
 

The incorporated right to work (hereafter RTW) movement has scored a victory in Michigan. On the heels of the 2012 election, during a lame duck session in which house Republicans held a 64 to 46 advantage over Democrats, the Michigan legislature passed two bills; one to enact RTW for public sector unions and the other for private sector unions. The private sector bill passed 58 to 52, with no votes from Democrats, and was quickly signed into law by Governor Rick Snyder without any formal public discussion or debate. Nefariously, the law was attached to an appropriations bill, which by Michigan law prevents opponents from taking the issue to a popular referendum.
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A Site of Struggle: Organised Labour and Domestic Worker Organising in Mozambique
 

Though rooted in colonialism, domestic work has become a hallmark of modern urban living in Mozambique. There are more than 39000 registered domestic workers living in and around Maputo - a 30% increase in 10 years - and domestic work has become the most important occupation for urban women, after self-employment (INE 2007). So vital is domestic work to Maputo’s economy that when the Mozambican state moved to extend labour protection to domestic workers in 2008, the Ministry of Labour removed minimum wage language for fear that employers, many who are themselves minimum wage earners, would no longer be able to participate in the labour force.
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New abusive measure against one of the Cuban Five
Statement from Cuban Ambassador to Ireland, Teresita Trujillo Hernández

René González Sehwerert, hero of the Republic of Cuba, has been the subject of new arbitrary measures by the Government of the United States that is toughening the conditions of his supervised release, making it seem even more as prison conditions, with the aim of continuing to punish him after so many years of unfair and cruel treatment.
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Labour Women

This year we commemorate one of the longest and most wide spread industrial actions in the history of our island. At ten o’clock on the morning of August 26th 1913 the tram men who were members of the ITGWU walked off their trams and so began the infamous 1913 lockout.

One of the first groups to come out in support of the tram workers were the women who worked for Jacobs led by a young Rosie Hackett. This was not her first involvement in industrial action. In 1910, Rosie was one of several hundred women from the factory who went on strike and secured equal pay for women.

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International Women's Day





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Fuel Poverty Conference

 

Energy Action’s European Conference on Tackling Fuel Poverty will be held in the Ballsbridge Hotel, Dublin, on March 11th and 12th.

EU Energy Action conference will pool information and experience to reduce Fuel Poverty in the coming year.

The conference has the theme of ‘Reframing Fuel Poverty in Europe’. It will focus primarily on addressing the health impact of the problem on low income groups and older people.

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SIPTU Solidarity with Cuba Forum
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The James Plunkett Short Story Award

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Larkin Credit Union

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Supporting Quality Campaign




We are delighted to announce that Kerry Foods
have joined the Supporting Quality Campaign


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SIPTU Basic English Scheme

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No Mum Should Be Alone on Mother's Day
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Travel Insurance
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