TEEU secures support from ICTU delegates as talks continue at Labour Relations Commission on electrical contracting dispute
July 9th, 2009.
The leader of the striking electricians, Eamon Devoy, told the Irish Congress of Trade Unions this morning that support for their stand in defence of Registered Employment Agreements continued to grow, thanks to the unanimous backing of other unions.
Members of his own union, the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union, working in the electrical contracting sector had been without a pay increase since April 2007 and now, instead of paying the 11 per cent due to them, the employers wanted to cut existing rates by ten per cent. The attack on workers pay and conditions was “a direct result of Government policy, supported by contractors, speculators, developers and bankers. They are responsible for the crisis and their solution is to drive down pay and conditions”.
In an obvious reference to CIF leader Tom Parlon, he added to loud applause from delegates that, “One man in particular is responsible for this dispute, who is more used to raising and slaughtering cows than understanding the rights of workers.
“This dispute is as much about defending the REA as anything else and that’s why support we are getting from the whole trade union movement is so important. Because if we win, we all win but if we lose then we all lose.
“There is a slogan on the wall at this conference, ‘Building Solidarity’. It was a slogan before the conference but it has become a reality this week. The solidarity shown by delegates and in particular the construction unions, which unanimously supported out application to the ICTU for an all-out picket has been crucial to us.”
He added that, “Factory workers in many manufacturing plants have stayed out, not because we asked them, but because they are standing in solidarity with us. There are even factories where workers asked to be picketed, to show their support, but we couldn’t do so because we have no disputes with contractors there.”
While Mr Devoy addressed Congress this morning in Tralee his colleagues TEEU General Secretary Owen Wills and TEEU President Frank Keoghane continued negotiations with the electrical contractors’ organisation in Dublin under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission.
