Molyneux Nursing Home closing after 200 years. 21 loyal staff forced to joined the dole queue. Management refusing to negotiate with staff. Pay cuts implemented in january 2012 without staff consent and in breach of the Payments and wages act 1991. ... read full story / add a comment

Anarchist organisation Workers Solidarity Movement (WSM) has welcomed Wednesday’s public sector strike and called for this to be “the start of a sustained campaign of opposition to the government’s attacks on workers and the unemployed.” ... read full story / add a comment

Office of An Taoiseach Merrion Square Dublin 2 Éire ... read full story / add a comment

I convey my deepest condolences to the people and government on the death of Veteran journalist, writer and intellectual Mr. Hameed Akhtar who succumb to cancer in Lahore on Sunday, 16 October at the age of 87. ... read full story / add a comment

A report arising from a statement by the Restaurant Association of Ireland was carried on several RTE news bulletins to-day and was also discussed on Morning Ireland on which a spokesperson was interviewed. The content of the statement is totally misleading. The news item and the interview provide examples of the uncritical broadcasting by RTE of employer propaganda.

The RAI had claimed that the Irish restaurant sector had created 490 new jobs in the months of July and August and that 164 of these had been due to the abolition of JLC/ERO system by the courts on July 7. It went on to argue that the JLC/ERO system should not be restored as it was an obstacle to job creation.

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As part of their ‘communities uniting’ campaign in the north, SIPTU are giving voice to community workers through an online series of interviews, ‘We are SIPTU.’

The series of interviews will be continually updated to YouTube, allowing people to easily access and get an insight into the everyday work of community activists, the services they provide, and the cuts facing projects. To access the interviews click on the following link;

http://www.youtube.com/user/siptunorth#grid/user/169914...66C8E
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The SIPTU Community Campaign will be holding a series of regional forums entitled “Building a Strong Union Voice & Defending the Community Sector”. The forums will discuss the current and imminent threats facing the community sector and how community workers can best unite to protect projects, jobs and communities. ... read full story / add a comment

A fuller report from today’s Irish Independent on the Labour capitulation on Low Pay is carried below. Not alone has the Labour Party agreed to the scrapping of the Sunday premium for low paid workers, it has also agreed to allow employers to claim inability to pay and ,if successful, to pay a lesser rate for normal working days. In circumstances in which demand is being continuously removed from the economy by government, this can only lead to continuous reduction in the direction of the minimum wage and the effective collapse of the system. Compliant employers will be progressively undermined by those paying a lower rate. The scrapping of the Sunday premium will simply add to the profits of highly successful multi-national retail chains at the expense of their employees. ... read full story / add a comment

A national internship scheme has been launched today in an effort to bring people off the unemployment register and back into the workforce.

This sounds great Geraldine McNamara Republican Sinn Fein PRO said, but when we are told that the person on the scheme will receive a mere fifty euro per week on top of their existing payment then we should start to worry. ... read full story / add a comment

SIPTU, the trade union representing Boots workers held a day of action at the company’s flagship store in Donegall Place, Belfast today (Sat 25th June) to highlight Boots attack on low paid workers despite achieving record profits of over £1 billion last year.

Workers held a protest for over 2 hours and handed out thousands of leaflets to bring attention to Boots withdrawal of basic terms and conditions of employment.

Mayor of Belfast Niall O'Donnghaile, a former Boots worker attended the protest to show his support.
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Contract cleaners protested outside the Department of Enterprise against proposals to dismantle their Employment Regulation Order (ERO)which sets pay and conditions for their sector.
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SIPTU’s campaign to reverse the decision to cut funding to Art Ability continues. Thankfully as a result of the Campaign some element of funding has been secured but not sufficient to ensure it can continue to cater for the needs of the most vulnerable in society. Indeed 4 members of staff have been forced to seek alternative employment despite having initially worked on without pay to protect the needs of the clients of the centre.

Art Ability provides training and support for 48 young people aged between six and 16 as well as 24 adults.
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The announcement on Friday by Vodafone that they are to make 139 workers redundant and that their jobs would be shifted east is the latest sickening blow to workers in the telecommunications sector. It comes in the wake of their former parent eircom’s announcement on Thursday that they are to seek yet another 1,000 voluntary redundancies amongst eircom and Meteor employees. ... read full story / add a comment

A statement of solidarity for May Day from the IRSCNA. ... read full story / add a comment

SIPTU members at Boots Chemists in the North are demanding that the company honours its contracts with staff. The call follows a statement by Boots that it intends to slash premium pay without agreement from 1st June in breach of the Wages (Northern Ireland) Order 1988.

Long serving members of staff are currently paid a premium for Sunday work and public holidays, a long and well established practice to compensate for working unsocial hours.
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Defend trade union rights.
Support sacked Dublin Bus shop steward.

Protest Rally Wed April 6th, from 12 till 2pm

Outside NBRU office on Parnell Sq West, Dublin 1.
It is 12 months since Dublin Bus dismissed Eugene McDonagh, the National Executive of the NBRU in Harristown Garage over an unofficial dispute in 2009.

The dispute arose over management’s decision to rush in changes on drivers schedules’ without adequate consultation. The unofficial action affected five garages over three days and involved over a thousand drivers. But Eugene was the only worker sacked after a lengthy investigation that involved widespread intimidation and threats against drivers by management.

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March 21 is the start of the New Year in Iran. IUF, Education International, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (the three international union federations with member organizations in Iran) and the ITUC together send a message of solidarity to all Iranian workers fighting for trade union rights and independent unions:

“Today, New Year in Iran, the international trade union movement sends fraternal greetings to you, our sisters and brothers, fighting for basic worker rights against an oppressive regime. For daring to speak out and to exercise your right to form trade unions, to represent and defend your interests and to bargain with employers, Iranian workers have been sacked, arrested as criminals, tortured and imprisoned. Some, like Kamangar*, have been executed; others await their execution; and the threat of death and possible judicial murder hangs over all those who seek to challenge misery and oppression by organizing at their workplace for collective action.

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The IRSM stands in solidarity with Michigan workers. ... read full story / add a comment

SIPTU, the union for Boots workers here, called together workers from across the stores to listen to the concerns of their membership and to work together on a coherent plan for the year ahead. The meeting, which took place in the Europa Hotel, Belfast, on 1st March, was a resounding success for what has been achieved so far - and what can be achieved in the future with their input. ... read full story / add a comment

The community sector is being urged to sit up and take action to prevent it being seen as an easy target by both the Assembly and Westminster when the budget cuts are finalised.

The call came at a public meeting in Omagh on Thursday night (17th February) organised by trade union SIPTU, which addressed how vulnerable the community sector will be to the budget cuts.

The crowd was made up of a cross section of local councillors, community group and resident association representatives from the Omagh area.
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