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07/07/2009 - 07:21:37
More than 10,000 electricians are beginning a second day of strike action today as part of a bitter pay dispute with employers.

The electricians, all members of the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU), began the stoppage yesterday in pursuit of an 11% pay increase that has been overdue for a number of years.

The strike caused major disruption to construction sites yesterday, with many big projects forced to shut down as other workers refused to pass TEEU pickets.

Diageo also went to the High Court seeking an injunction against pickets at the Guinness brewery in Dublin, while Cadbury's says it has had to put its north Dublin workforce on protective notice due to the disruption.

The Construction Industry Federation says its member companies have put around 4,000 striking electricians on protective notice.

The TEEU is insisting that the stoppage will continue until the employers agree to address electricians' concerns.

Related Links:

• 07/07/2009 Electricians begin second day of strike action

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/e...xzz0KYuoL32k&D

July 6th, 2009.

The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union says the national strike has been a major success in terms of turnout by members in the electrical contracting sector and the support they have received from construction workers in other unions. The union is also applying today to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions for an all-out picket at locations where it is in dispute.

TEEU General Secretary Designate Eamon Devoy said this morning, “Our members have sent a very clear signal to the employers by their actions this morning that they will not be rolling over and meekly accepting cutbacks to bail out developers and speculators. The turnout has been far more eloquent than anything I can say and I hope the message has now gotten through to the hawks in the electrical contracting employer associations and their friends in the Construction Industry Federation that our members were not engaged in some elaborate game of bluff over the past 15 months.

“We are determined to defend the Registered Employment Agreement system, which has served this state well since the 1930s. We remain available for serious negotiations, as we have been since April 2008. If the employers wish to engage, now that they can see the alternative to procrastination is industrial action, we will be happy to oblige them. If not, the pickets will remain in place and we will now be seeking to consolidate the support we are already receiving from other workers through an application for an all-out picket from ICTU today.”

Below are some of the principal sites affected. Names in brackets refer to electrical contractors on those sites.
Dublin: Kingswood City West (Seamus Byrne Electrical Contracts), Kingswood City West Conference Centre (Laragh Electrical Contracts), Pfizers in Pottery Road, Dun Laoghaire (Philtron), Terminal 2, Dublin Airport, (Mercury Engineering, Suir Engineering and Dornans), Lansdowne Road Stadium, (Mercury Engineering, Kentz, Phelan Electrical), Point Village, (Patrick Lynch Limited, Winthrop Engineering), New Criminal Courts Complex, Infirmary Road, (O’Kane Engineering), Burlington Hotel, (Designer Electric), Microsoft, Clondalkin, (Mercury Engineering), National Conference Centre, (Mercury Engineering), St Vincent’s Hospital, (Patrick Lynch Limited, H A O’Neill Engineering) Guinness’s Brewery, (Brooklyn Engineering), Tokeda, Bray (O’Kane Engineering). Cork: Pfizers in Rigaskiddy, (Philtron), the new Bord Gais power station Whitegate, (Dornan Engineering), ESB Generating Station Aghada, (Kirby Electrical), Mercke Sharp and Dohme in Carlow and Clonmel, (Suir Electric), Eli Lilly, Kinsale, (Dornan, O’Shea Electrical). Others: ESB Moneypoint, Mercury Engineering, Hegarty Electrical), Corrib (Mercury Engineering, Hegarty Electrical).

http://www.teeu.ie/news/showtest.asp?id=277

Technical Engineering and Electrical Union members received “huge support” from other workers in Cork on the first day of the dispute to defend the Registered Employment Agreement.

“On most sites where we mounted pickets members of other unions refused to pass them and in some cases, such as the two ESB facilities in Aghada, the Whitegate refinery and the Eli Lilly plant, workers employed directly in the main plants joined the picket line to show their support”, TEEU Regional Secretary Pat Guilfoyle said today.

“We made sure there was no threat to power supplies at Aghada but there was no doubting the support we received from colleagues in SIPTU, Unite, BATU and other unions. Workers know that if the ECA and AECI succeed in driving wages and conditions down for our members they will be next.”

Among the sites picketed by TEEU and supported by other workers in Cork today were:

The Conoco Phillips site at Whitegate oil refinery

The new Bord Gais power station being built at Whitegate

The ESB Generating Station at Aghada and the new ESB Power Station being built at Aghada

The Eli Lily site

The Cork University Hospital site

The Pfizer Bio Plant under construction at Ringaskiddy and the new development at the existing Pfizer API plant at Ringaskiddy

The Pfizer plant at Little island

The new Glaxo Smith Kline building in Ringaskiddy

The Douglas Shopping Centre

The centre city St Patrick Street Development

The Novartis site in Ringaskiddy

St Mary’ Orthapaedic Hospital

Alcon, Model Farm Road

Apple Computers

Tyndall National Institute

Referring to the pickets at hospital sites Pat Guilfoyle said, “We want to make it clear that our disputes on these sites is with electrical contractors in the ECA and AECI and that our members are not interfering in any way with services to the public.”
http://www.teeu.ie/news/showtest.asp?id=279

Looking at the pictures, it seems to generally be quite a young strike which is definitely a positive.

Anyone heard anything on the Diageo picket?

Concern for jobs as electricians’ strike continues

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07/07/2009 - 12:00:49
Employers' organisations say the nationwide strike by more than 10,000 electricians is putting thousands of jobs at risk.

IBEC says it has already been contacted by international firms who are seriously concerned about Irish operations which have been hit by the action.

The Construction Industry Federation, meanwhile, says sanity must prevail before any more damage is done.

The strike action, which entered its second day this morning, is disrupting activities at several major construction sites and manufacturing facilities.

Yesterday, Diageo secured a High Court injunction preventing pickets at its Guinness brewery in Dublin, while Cadbury said it had been forced to place its north Dublin workforce on protective notice due to the disruption.

http://breakingnews.ie/ireland/conce...xzz0KZkBCFKj&D

I thought the Cadburry plant in Coolock was closing.

anyway, this is getting bigger by the hour it seems.

07/07/2009 - 18:47:31
Striking electricians tonight vowed to keep up their damaging all-out stoppage as union leaders agreed to re-enter talks with employers over a bitter pay row.

The Government stopped short of forcing the two sides to negotiate but Tánaiste Mary Coughlan said one of state’s industrial relations bodies had been ordered to call them back in.

Eamon Devoy, the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union general secretary, agreed to the talks by calling for a meaningful offer from employers.

“We are doing so out of deference to the Tanaiste and in the public interest,” he said.

“We are willing to engage in meaningful talks with the employers. However for these to take place will require the employers putting a meaningful offer on the table, which has not happened to date.”

The dispute had appeared to seriously deepen before the Government intervened after an on air row between Mr Devoy and Construction Industry Federation boss Tom Parlon who branded striking workers lunatics.

“This thing is so serious that we can’t afford to let the lunatics be in charge, we have to sit down. I would call on whatever sane counsel that is there to come forward at the moment,” the construction chief said.

The two sides will meet at the Labour Relations Commission for the third time tomorrow in an attempt to resolve the long-running row over pay rises.

Scores of building sites from townhouses to the country’s biggest projects have been virtually paralysed for the last two days as angry electricians formed pickets. Corrib gas, Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2 and Lansdowne Road were just two of the flagship sites hit while Guinness and Cadbury went to court to move pickets from their front gates.

The TEEU has claimed massive support from other unions including Siptu and Unite and also called for Congress to back a nationwide strike in solidarity.

They are seeking a €2.49-an-hour pay rise on standard wages of €21.49 an hour.

Employer groups, the CIF and the Electrical Contractors Association, warned of job losses if sites cannot operate at full scale.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore called on the Government to intervene and said under the Industrial Relations Act officials could order the Labour Court as well as the Labour Relations Commission to step in.

The legislation allows for an intervention if the strike affects the public interest.

In the Dail the Tanaiste said she would not be using special powers to force both sides of the row together but ordered the Labour Relations Commission to issue invites.

“In view of the seriousness of the situation and the impact on the economy I have requested the Labour Relations Commission to recall the parties as soon as possible with a view to an early resolution of the dispute,” she said.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen claimed the strike, which hit the country’s flagship construction projects like and Corrib Gas Project, had the potential to damage Ireland’s economy.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen ruled out using special powers to force both sides of the dispute together for the meantime.

“It seems to me that this is the kind of dispute for which those types of power were envisaged,” said Mr Gilmore.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/e...xzz0KbyyqeFP&D

Copy and pasted from the IRSM forum.



RSYM statement......................................... ........................................

The Republican Socialist Youth Movement would like to take this opportunity to offer our full support to the workers of The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) in their struggle for justice in the face of a vicious attack on their living standards. It is with great dismay the R.S.Y.M learned of the workers perilous position and we want to make it abundantly clear that an attack on one section of the working class is an attack on us all, and this will not be tolerated. At this time we would call on all workers, of all industries, to remain defiant and to rally around your colleagues. One must ask themselves, if this is happening to electricians across Ireland, how long will it be before the effects of this failed system eventually filter to further industries.

It is setting a dangerous precedent to allow the electrical contractors to renege on their agreement with workers to raise wages and to in turn propose wage cuts! These employers need to be sent a clear message by Irish workers that we will not be bullied and any attempt to further exploit us to secure huge wealth for a corrupt minority will be met with a united and strong workforce, which will fight for its interests.

We would also like to make reference to the recent comments made by the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise of the 26 counties, Mary Coughlan. It is the opinion of the R.S.Y.M that the likes of Minister Coughlan can hardly comment with any credibility on this worker dispute, it has been some time before she could possibly empathize with the situation these men and women find themselves in. Her comments are designed to paper over the cracks in this current economic system and to encourage the workers to accept much less then they are entitled to. While this current system remains in place the daily struggle of the workers to keep their head above water will remain. It is our exploiters, who harbour extraordinary personal wealth, that the Tanaiste seeks to appease and offer support to. She and her government misfits do not have the interests of the working people of Ireland at heart and if we as workers do not instigate the changes necessary, then no-one else is going to do it for us. Especially not this current government.

Victory to the TEEU workers!

Workers Unite and crush this system that exploits you!

National P.R.O
Republican Socialist Youth Movement

Ends.
http://rsmforum.proboards.com/index....ay&thread=2841

it will be interesting to see how the IBEW in the USA reacts to this news. i will post anything i can get from the IBEW.

I find it quite extraordinary (in a good way) that this strike appears to have as much support as it does. It seems that the Irish people are beginning to be able to see through the lies of the employers and have some solidarity with striking workers. The way this strike has been portrayed in the media is sickening, suggesting that the workers are calling for a 11% payrise in deflationary conditions, when the payrise is three years overdue. Three years ago, conditions were anything but deflationary. I would be interested to know what these rises constitute in real terms, ie how they compare to combined price rises over the last three years. But of course, that's not the point, as this represents a more important stance against employers arbitrarily renegotiating previous deals.

But one area which I'm still not clear on, is the picketing. The press has been keen to point out that some of the sites picketed are not involved in the dispute. I find that hard to believe, but I haven't heard the Union defend their pickets, and there is a risk that not enough is being done to inform the people (myself included) why certain sites are picketed.

And what was the result of the ICTU meeting yesterday evening about widening the picket. The ICTU General Secretary and President don't seem to be singing off the same hymn sheet, and Begg has been his usual cowardly self in his half-hearted defence of the electricians, and when interviewed last night on RTE he appeared to know little or nothing about the picketing issue, which for the General Secretary of ICTU, is a disgrace!

The picketing issue at places such as Cadburys etc are an excellent idea . workers at Cadbury , Landsdowne road and at Diagios Guiness Plant won't pass the pickets thus shutting down other businesses in a form of a secondary strike . It is an excellent sign of militancy among the workers and should be not only applauded but followed by all other workers .

Talks aimed at resolving electricians’ dispute continue

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08/07/2009 - 17:08:04
The two sides in the electricians' dispute remained locked in face-to-face talks at the Labour Relations Commission this afternoon, with a resolution still apparently a long way off.

The nationwide strike continued today for a third day. Employers have claimed the action by more than 10,000 electricians is costing around €30 million a day in lost wages.

General Secretary Designate of the TEEU Eamon Devoy was standing firm this afternoon, saying his union’s pickets would remain in place until members are granted an 11% pay increase.

“This is the third time in a week we've been at the Labour Relations Commission,” Mr Devoy said.

“The employers have not yet made an offer in an attempt to resolve this dispute, and until they do we have nothing to discuss.”

Employers claim they can't afford the increase, and have called instead for a 10% pay cut.

Meanwhile, Irish Distillers have been granted an injunction by the High Court this afternoon to stop pickets outside its Midleton based distillery by members of the TEEU.

Lawyers for Irish Distillers Ltd. said five union members had placed a picket on the entrance to the Co. Cork factory carrying placards marked with the words "TEEU Official Dispute".

The court heard that the picketers informed the company that it was not in dispute with Irish Distillers, but with Shanley Electrical which provides services to it from time to time.

But Irish Distillers argued that Shanley Electrical was not providing any services to the company at that time.

Ms Justice Mary Laffoy granted an injunction to stop the picket, and the case was scheduled to return to the court on Friday.

Earlier, the High Court extended an injunction preventing electricians picketing at the Guinness Brewery in Dublin until Monday.

Related Links:

• 08/07/2009 Talks aimed at resolving electricians’ dispute continue

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/t...xzz0KgghI1Kb&D

I completely agree with secondary picketting, what i'm saying is that the Unions have not sought to explain their position on picketting. The only information being put out in the news is that Cadbury's and Diageo have nothing to do with the dispute and that they obtained injunctions. There has been no defence of the picketting in the media. Both Cadbury's and Diageo are saying that they have no way of influencing the result of the dispute, but surely they use electricians! Maybe non-unionised or non TEEU electricians. My only problem with the secondary picketting is that it hasn't been fully explained to the public. There is growing pressure from the establishment against this strike, everything needs to be done to sell this to the Irish people. Maybe now's not the right time to set it out in a public forum, as they are in negotiations, but I would be interested to know why these sites have been chosen, and in particular how each of them has played their part in keeping the wages of the electricians deflated for so long.

The above post is helpful. It may be that Irish Distillers are not currently using this company, but that's not to say that work done over the past three years hasn't been done by this company. This needs to be explained in detail or electricians will soon come across as being unreasonable. For example, those picketting the Distillers site could have plackards giving details of the work that they did on the site, and for which they got underpaid!!

Talks on electricians’ dispute to resume today

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09/07/2009 - 07:27:49
Talks aimed at resolving the electricians' dispute are due to resume at the Labour Relations Commission today after they were adjourned in the early hours of this morning.

The discussions appear to be making some progress, with employers' apparently expressing a willingness to drop their demand for a 10% pay cut.

However, it remains unclear whether a deal can be reached.

The TEEU, which is demanding an 11% pay rise, is refusing to lift pickets across the country until a resolution is found.

More than 10,000 electricians are beginning a fourth day of strike action today at construction sites and manufacturing facilities across the country.

http://breakingnews.ie/ireland/talks...xzz0Kl5xWNJp&D

TEEU says deal to end strike looks unlikely

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09/07/2009 - 17:08:52
It was looking increasingly unlikely this evening that a deal between electricians and employers could be found.

Both sides are still locked in talks at the Labour Relations Commission this evening in a bid to end the four-day strike.

Pay remains a contentious issue, with unions asking for a pay rise and employers calling for a pay cut.

The TEEU also says outside influences, not represented at the talks, are having a negative effect.

Union spokesman Owen Wills was not overly optimistic that a resolution could be found.

http://breakingnews.ie/ireland/teeu-...xzz0Kn2NlL7c&D

10/07/2009 - 14:46:42
Full talks are to resume at the Labour Relations Commission to bring an end to the electricians’ dispute.

The Association of Electrical Contractors Ireland have met LRC officials to discuss a number of specific issues which it wanted ironed out.

All sides are to re-enter negotiations at 3.30pm in a bid to hammer out a deal.

Yesterday, the Construction Industry Federation took its 10% pay cut proposal off the table and gave assurances that the conditions of the Registered Employment Agreement would be protected.

A fifth day of strike action is continuing around the country.

http://breakingnews.ie/ireland/lrc-t...xzz0KwXTsKA0&D

Electricians' strike hurting fragile economy, warns Cowen

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10/07/2009 - 18:08:51
The electricians’ strike is taking its toll on the already fragile economy, Brian Cowen warned today.

As talks continued to resolve the five-day-old action, the Taoiseach said the row did not reflect well on either side.

Mr Cowen appealed for the electricians and employers to work together to find a solution in the interests of the country.

“We need to avoid disputes and going back to the old days of industrial-type conflicts,” he said, at the biennial delegate conference of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in Tralee, Co Kerry.

“It’s not in any of our interests to see this. It puts an onus on both parties to engage constructively and find a solution, because the wider implications for the economy are not good at a time when the economy is already fragile and needs to be supported.”

The Labour Relations Commission has called strikers union the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) and employers groups – including the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) and the Association of Electrical Contractors Ireland (AECI) – back to talks on the orders of Tánaiste Mary Coughlan.

The employers groups have withdrawn demands for a 10% pay cut among workers while electricians say they are owed a 11% pay rise going back three years.

“The industrial relations machinery of the State, at the request of the National Implementation Body, has been engaged with the parties in an attempt to bring about a solution,” said Mr Cowen.

“There is an onus on both sides to engage constructively in that process and to reflect in their behaviour the reality of the impact the dispute is having on the wider economy and its reputation.”

Scores of building sites from townhouses to the country’s biggest projects have been hit over the past week as angry electricians formed pickets.

Corrib gas, Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2 and the new Lansdowne Road stadium were among the flagship sites hit.

Guinness and Cadbury got injunctions from the courts to move pickets from their front gates.

http://breakingnews.ie/ireland/elect...xzz0KwYBoNBL&D

Electricians' union welcomes Labour Court recommendations

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12/07/2009 - 10:07:38
The Labour Court has recommended a 4.9% pay hike for electricians, union chiefs said last night.

If accepted, it will be paid in two instalments of 2.5% and 2.4% in September and January.

Unions and employers made submissions to the Court after re-entering talks at the Labour Relations Commission.

The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union welcomed the move.

Eamon Devoy, general secretary designate, said: “We welcome the acknowledgement by the Labour Court that our members are entitled to an increase that was frozen from April 2008 and withheld at a time when the sector was still buoyant.”

Mr Devoy said the union would meet today to decide what course of action to take, but warned it was conditional on how employers would respond.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen has previously said that the strike was taking its toll on an already fragile economy.

He appealed for the electricians and employers to work together to find a solution in the interests of the country.

The employers groups withdrew demands for a 10% pay cut among workers while electricians said they were owed an 11% pay rise going back three years.

Scores of building sites, from townhouses to the country’s biggest projects, have been hit over the past week as angry electricians formed pickets.

Corrib gas, Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2 and the new Lansdowne Road stadium were just some of the flagship sites hit.

Guinness and Cadbury got injunctions from the courts to move pickets from their front gates.

Related Links:

• 12/07/2009 Electricians' union welcomes Labour Court recommendations

http://breakingnews.ie/ireland/elect...xzz0L2Q1xTCz&D

Electricians to return to work

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13/07/2009 - 07:23:04
Thousands of electricians are to return to work across the country this morning following the suspension of their strike action.

The Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) decided yesterday to suspend the week-long strike action after the Labour Court recommended that electricians receive a 4.9% pay increase.

The union, which was seeking an 11% pay increase, has accepted the recommendation, but groups representing electrical employers have yet to make a decision on the matter.

The TEEU is warning that it might reinstate the strike action if the response of the employers is not positive.

Related Links:

• 13/07/2009 Electricians to return to work

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/e...xzz0L8MvgLB7&D