Solidarity picket with Cleaners at Custom House

dublin | worker & community struggles and protests | news report

Tuesday July 14, 2009 22:11

by Paula Geraghty

mspgeraghty at yahoo dot ie

On Monday 13th July at 1pm the People Before Profit Alliance organised a protest in support of 13 contract cleaners who were unlawfully dismissed by the private contractor in the Custom House.

Siptu Official Strike

The 13 cleaners have been working in the Custom House for 6 years for Eco Facilities Management. When the contract was won by the new company Schorman, the workers were expecting the same wages, hours and conditions as previously under the 'transfer of undertakings' regulation. Schorman secured the contract to clean the Custom House on May 28th. The contract had been held previously by Eco-Facilities Management.

On May 29th letters were issued to the cleaners by Schorman informing them that their hours would be cut from 4 hours to “2.57” hours per day. Although the Custom House hadn't shrunk by a ratio of 4 to 2.57. Which obviously means that the new employer assumed that these women would do the same work in less hours for less pay. Then the 13 cleaners were sacked, and 6 new workers were brought in to do the same job but only getting paid for 2.5 hours while the former employees were paid for 4 hours.

The LRC will hear the case between the sacked workers and Schorman tomorrow Wednesday at 11am. The cleaning company Schorman failed to appear at the Labour Relations Commission last week.

images (c)

Picketers and supporters

Josefa Gruszka and Alexandra Siatka on strike at the Custom House

Councillor Joan Collins at the picket line giving her support

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Comments (1 of 1)

Direct Employment Is The Answer.

by Margaret O'Regan - SWP

Wed Jul 15, 2009 09:45

It is time government departments directly employed all workers. These cleaners are working for the state, and there is no reason why they should'nt have the benefits of direct employment. At the end of their working life, these workers should also have proper pension entitlement equal to all other workers in this department.

This Department should pay more attention to two of the words in their title, i.e. environment and heritage. Surely the environment of human beings is a concern to whoever in this department is making the decision to contract out cleaning services, as if it was beyond the organisational skills of the department to do their own recruiting directly. Surely, also, heritage refers to people - to be treated with dignity as human beings must mean an entitlement to be treated equally with all co-workers in this government department.

Shame on a state body treating workers like second-class citizens.

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Solidarity picket with Cleaners at Custom House

Comments (1 of 1)