The threatened strike by bookmakers' clerks at racecourses over the Christmas holiday season has been called off. SIPTU and the Irish National Bookmakers' Association have agreed to refer their dispute over pensions, sick pay and allowances to conciliation under an independent chairman.
Although the dispute involves only 25 casual clerks who work the courses during race meetings, it threatened to disrupt racing at Leopardstown and Limerick on St Stephen's Day, and other racing events as they came up. SIPTU had intended to withdraw other members who work on the courses, if the INBA refused to negotiate on the pension and sick pay issues. Greyhound races and coursing would have been affected by the dispute as well as horse racing.
Casual clerks earn less than £150 a week. Their earnings have been falling in recent times because of the decline in the size of crowds attending mid-week meetings.
SIPTU has been pressing for a number of years to secure them pensions and sick pay. It also wants bookmakers to pay them a daily allowance of £5 and £10 for working evenings and weekends. The INBA has been willing to meet the union to negotiate on pay rises due under Partnership 2000, but has refused until now to negotiate on fringe benefits. Its honorary secretary, Mr Francis Hyland, says that the cost of pensions, in particular, could be crippling for many of the smaller bookmakers.
Both sides have now agreed to meet in February to discuss these issues under the chairmanship of the president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Mr Edmund Browne.