Members of the trade union Unite staged a protest outside the Dublin office of offices of accountancy firm EY on Monday in support of colleagues they say were unjustly sacked by the construction firm Murphy International.
Unite claims the four, one of whom was a shop steward, were fired last year after a meeting of workers to discuss a dispute with Murphy management over allowances they were seeking for the company’s employees at the Rusal Alumina Plant in Limerick.
The meeting was attended by 15 workers but only four were ultimately dismissed.
Unite claims the move was an act of “union busting” and wants the four workers to be reinstated.
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“The lads have said, they don’t want money, they want their jobs back,” said Unite organiser Gary Russell, who attended Monday’s protest.
The company characterised the union’s portrayal of the case as “misleading”. It said the original incident involved an illegal strike and that all of its other employees at the site are union members, adding that it is open to resolving the problem.
Unite has been pursuing the case of the four men since the dismissals took effect in September of 2022. And as part of its campaign has been demonstrating at locations owned or operated by the organisation or companies with links to Murphy International and its London-based parent, J Murphy and Sons.
The intention is to pressure third-party companies to raise the case with Murphy.
Union tactics
The union protested outside EY’s offices in Harcourt Street on the basis, it says, of that firm’s connection to a big infrastructure project in London on which Murphy is engaged. The union said the firm is represented on the Professional and Business Services Council, an independent forum, on which another company involved in the project is also represented.
The union has previously targeted locations associated with construction firm Lendlease, global engineering firm Mott McDonald and offices of the Ontario Teacher Pension Plan on the basis of their involvement with projects on which Murphy was working.
Asked about the protest, a spokesperson for J Murphy and Sons said the firm “acted in line with its legal requirements in response to unauthorised strike action at its Aughinish site in Limerick, Ireland. The company has always indicated that it is open to resolving this matter amicably and sensibly. We remain committed to maintaining an open dialogue with all parties around this issue to try to draw a line under this matter. This matter is currently subject to legal proceedings in Ireland.”
EY declined to comment.
