The Wholesome Photo of the Month Thu May 09, 2024 11:01 | Anti-Empire
In 3 War Years Russia Will Have Spent $3... Thu May 09, 2024 02:17 | Anti-Empire
UK Sending Missiles to Be Fired Into Rus... Tue May 07, 2024 14:17 | Marko Marjanović
US Gives Weapons to Taiwan for Free, The... Fri May 03, 2024 03:55 | Anti-Empire
Russia Has 17 Percent More Defense Jobs ... Tue Apr 30, 2024 11:56 | Marko Marjanović Anti-Empire >>
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Julian Assange is finally free ! Tue Jun 25, 2024 21:11 | indy
Stand With Palestine: Workplace Day of Action on Naksa Day Thu May 30, 2024 21:55 | indy
It is Chemtrails Month and Time to Visit this Topic Thu May 30, 2024 00:01 | indy
Hamburg 14.05. "Rote" Flora Reoccupied By Internationalists Wed May 15, 2024 15:49 | Internationalist left
Eddie Hobbs Breaks the Silence Exposing the Hidden Agenda Behind the WHO Treaty Sat May 11, 2024 22:41 | indy Human Rights in Ireland >>
Porsche Scraps Electric Car Targets as Demand Slumps Tue Jul 23, 2024 19:43 | Will Jones Porsche has scrapped its sales targets for EVs amid a slump in demand. A previous goal of 80% by 2030 has been watered down and the company now says sales will depend on uptake and how the technology develops.
The post Porsche Scraps Electric Car Targets as Demand Slumps appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
?Mission-Driven? Government is the Antithesis of Liberty Tue Jul 23, 2024 17:30 | Dr David McGrogan Labour is "mission-driven", says Keir Starmer. But the last thing anyone should want is a Government with a mission, says David McGrogan. That's because a Government with a mission needs conscripts. That's you and me.
The post “Mission-Driven” Government is the Antithesis of Liberty appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Victory! Hospitals That Brought Back Mask Mandates Backtrack After Complaints Tue Jul 23, 2024 15:30 | Dr Gary Sidley A victory in the mask wars! Two hospital providers that brought back mask mandates have backtracked and scrapped them following complaints from Daily Sceptic readers and Smile Free supporters.
The post Victory! Hospitals That Brought Back Mask Mandates Backtrack After Complaints appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Read it and Weep: The BBC Journalists Taking Home Six Figure Salaries Courtesy of the Licence Fee Pa... Tue Jul 23, 2024 13:45 | Will Jones Read it and weep: the list of the BBC journalists taking home six figure salaries courtesy of the licence fee payer. Disgraced presenter Huw Edwards came top with £475k despite being off air for nine months of the year.
The post Read it and Weep: The BBC Journalists Taking Home Six Figure Salaries Courtesy of the Licence Fee Payer appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
David Lammy: The Foreign Secretary Who Called Trump ?a Racist KKK and Nazi Sympathiser? and Refuses ... Tue Jul 23, 2024 12:43 | Peter Harris Britain's new Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, is on record calling Donald Trump "a racist KKK and Nazi sympathiser" and has refused to apologise. This is clearly going to be a problem, says Peter Harris.
The post David Lammy: The Foreign Secretary Who Called Trump “a Racist KKK and Nazi Sympathiser” and Refuses to Apologise appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Netanyahu soon to appear before the US Congress? It will be decisive for the suc... Thu Jul 04, 2024 04:44 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N°93 Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:49 | en
Will Israel succeed in attacking Lebanon and pushing the United States to nuke I... Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:40 | en
Will Netanyahu launch tactical nuclear bombs (sic) against Hezbollah, with US su... Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:09 | en
Will Israel provoke a cataclysm?, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Jun 25, 2024 06:59 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
Supporting the Electricians Strike
Electricians go on strike in response to a two year employer strike on pay. Since 2007 (roaring property boom) employers have been witholding pay that is legally due to electricians. They are now looking for a 10 per cent pay cut. Employers and unions came to an agreement, the employers broke the agreement, they now refuse to negotiate and are looking for a collective 10 per cent pay cut.
TEEU Electricians are entering into a third day of industrial action. It looks likely the Irish Congress of Trade Union (ICTU) will give their backing to the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union call (TEEU) for an all out picket. Pickets have been in place at construction sites on Infirmary road, Lansdowne road, Corrib gas field, Dublin Docklands and Dublin Airport.
Pay rates are set by joint industrial councils and binded through a 'Registered Employment Agreement' (REA). The last REA for electricians was in 2007, where employers agreed to a 4.9 per cent pay increase. After this agreement one of the large sub contractors Association of Electrical Contractors in Ireland (AECI) and Electrical Contractors Association (ECA), who initially signed up, pulled out of the agreement. They broke the contract. They then tried to hold up the process and cancel in the Labour Court. The economic recession hit, and the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), who represent over 50 employer groups, began to support the call for a 10 per cent pay cut.
Like any calculated negotiator, the TEEU responded by calling for a pay rise of 5 per cent. The debate has now been framed 'Unions want 11 per cent pay increase', whilst the poor employers, who can’t afford to pay, need a 10 per cent pay cut'. The reality is the opportunist employers are tearing up legal agreements, a precedent that would have huge effects upon every worker in the country.
Part of the thinking, arguably, behind the employer’s strategy is to move away from the joint industrial system, and to move toward a decentralised pay bargaining system. A free market model. In the good times employers want centralised wage restraint because they know at a local level they will have to pay more. In bad times they want a local bargaining system because they can pay less. By tearing up procedural processes that ensure workers rights are respected they can maintain a 'race to the bottom'.
The contractors that the TEEU are targeting are based in companies (Diageo, Cadbury's and INTEL) not directly party to the CIF. This is why the TEEU is attempting to picket these companies. Some have responded by putting workers on protective notice (making their job security uncertain and less likely to support a strike, and more likely to pass a picket).
Employers (and much of the media) have been arguing that pay cuts are occurring right across the private sector. There has been no detailed evidence to support this. The only research done (Industrial relations news) found the opposite. They found that many profitable private sector companies are actually paying the agreed increases under the social partnership agreement: towards 2016.
Tom Parlon has described Trade Union leaders as 'lunatics'. Their lunacy is demanding that employers respect a legally agreed contract, and that they return to negotiations to find a resolution. Meanwhile FF senators have described the rational response by the Unions as potentially causing more damage to the economy than the banking crisis. This is the banking crisis that was caused by reckless lending to scrupulous property developers, and facilitated by Fianna Fail through tax cuts, fuelling a property bubble that resulted in our current recession.
This is a struggle for social and economic justice, and necessitates the solidarity of all workers and citizens across Ireland.
|
View Full Comment Text
save preference
Comments (4 of 4)