N.E.C.I. Warning Strike Action Will Cause Massive Job Losses

national | worker & community struggles and protests | press release Monday June 23, 2008 18:49 by Dave Butler - NECI

An Injunction has been granted by the High Court to prevent the Labour Court from varying the Registered Employment Agreement that is in force in the Electrical Contracting Industry until such time as its validity is proven. NECI claims the agreement is not valid as employer parties to the agreement represent only an estimated 10% of the employers in the industry. The proposed increase will cost each employer employing an electrician for 39 hour week, €71,062.24 per year .This includes Pension, PAYE/PRSI,Holiday pay. This cost does not include safety training, safety equipment or safety clothing being provided.

The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (T.E.E.U.) are to begin balloting for strike its approx 8,000 members which work in the electrical contracting industry. There are an estimated 28,000 electricians working in this industry.

This Cost is simply unrealistic in today’s economic climate.

N.E.C.I. says this proposed increase will lead to massive job losses within the industry and the winding up of many long established electrical contracting firms. Realistically we should be talking about a pay freeze and trying to maintain employment in our industry. These rates are simply unobtainable outside the big cities and also unobtainable to contractors working in the domestic side of the industry.

N.E.C.I. want a grading system to be implemented, whereby top performing experienced electricians can be rewarded much more than the existing REA allows. Today based on the current REA, top performing experienced electricians only receive 75 cent per hour more than the newly qualified inexperienced ones. The old pre ‘Celtic tiger’ grading system works on a time served basis and not on quality, experience and qualifications.

It is the opinion of N.E.C.I. that this REA is flawed from its inception, as the parties who negotiated and signed this REA were not ‘substantially representative of such workers and employers’

Section 27 (3) section C of the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 states clearly:-

‘(c) that the parties to the agreement are substantially representative of such workers and employers,’

Pursuant to Section 29 (2)of the Agreement it is provided that:-

‘(2) The Court may cancel the registration of an employment agreement if satisfied that there has been such substantial change in the circumstances of the trade or business to which it relates since the registration of the agreement that it is undesirable to maintain registration’.

The entire industry has gone through radical change since 1990, when this REA was first registered. Preliminary results of N.E.C.I.’s national survey clearly show that 90% of the industry do not know, or have never been educated correctly on their legal requirements and responsibilities to their employees under this REA. It is our goal to ensure that a certified educational programme be implemented across the entire industry on a new balanced and fair national Registered Employment Agreement that has been negeoated by all employers and workers in the industry.

Apprentice Ratio Ensuring Excellent Training & Craftsmanship

NECI want to change the Apprentice Ratio to only allow a company to have two apprentices to every qualified electrician employed This will ensure excellent training practices and quality of workmanship for the apprentice. This will also ensure excellent workmanship for the customers. This ratio has not been adhered to or regulated for many years. Many companies now have 20 or 30 apprentices to every one qualified electrician employed and are using Apprentices to keep down costs.

The issue of the throughput of apprentices leaving FAS every year, flooding the industry with poorly trained and expensive to employ electricians, due to the current REA agreement, must be addressed urgently. When qualified these electricians become too expensive to employ and take the only option to work in the industry. They become contractors themselves, take on apprentices and the whole cycle starts again. It is NECIs opinion that the current situation could very quickly lead to very poor and dangerous electrical work being carried out.

These are only some of the many issues that N.E.C.I. are actively working on for its members.