Electricians dispute:ELECTRICIANS AND representatives of electrical contractors will today hold talks at the Labour Relations Commission in a bid to resolve the nationwide dispute which has brought work to a halt on high profile construction sites around the country and disrupted production in a number of manufacturing companies.
However, in the meantime the strike will continue and pickets will once again be in place today.
Last night the Irish Congress of Trade Unions approved an application by the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU), which represents the electricians, for an all-out strike in the electrical contractor sector.
Other unions such as Siptu and Unite will now ballot members in the sector over the next fortnight.
The new intervention by the Labour Relations Commission was sought yesterday by Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Mary Coughlan.
“In view of the seriousness of the position and the impact on the economy, I have requested the Labour Relations Commission to recall the parties as soon as possible with a view to an early resolution of the dispute,” she told the Dáil.
Ms Coughlan encouraged the parties to renew their efforts in assisting the Labour Relations Commission to get a mutually agreed settlement to this dispute.
“It is important that the parties to the dispute re-engage, not just on the basis of their already stated positions but to explore all available options to end this impasse,” she said.
Earlier yesterday at the biennial conference of Ictu in Tralee, Co Kerry, Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore had called on the Tánaiste to invoke powers under industrial relations legislation and to direct the Labour Court to bring the parties to the dispute back together for further talks.
Two sets of the talks at the Labour Relations Commission over the last week were unsuccessful in breaking the deadlock.
The union is seeking an increase of over 11 per cent on the hourly rate for electricians working for contractors which it says is due for two years. The employers have said that they cannot afford to pay the increase at this time.
TEEU general secretary–designate Eamon Devoy said last night that the union would attend the talks today “out of deference to the Tánaiste and in the public interest”.
“We are willing to engage in meaningful talks with the employers. However, for these to take place will require the employers putting a meaningful offer on the table, which has not happened to date.” A number of main building contractors who have contracts to develop a number of the high-profile projects affected by the dispute are to meet today in advance of the Labour Relations Commission talks.
Chocolate manufacturer Cadbury Ireland yesterday secured a temporary High Court injunction preventing picketing outside its plant at Coolock in Dublin by supporters of the electricians’ strike. The drinks group Diageo obtained an interim injunction on Monday.
The union is due to respond to this injunction at a High Court hearing today.
Employers’ body Ibec says some manufacturing operations may have to stop production and that companies could be forced into lay-offs if the strike continues.
The director general of the Construction Industry Federation Tom Parlon said the dispute was causing untold damage. Describing the strike as an ugly escalation, he said “we cannot let the lunatics be in charge”.
His use of the word “lunatics” was strongly criticised by Ictu general secretary David Begg.
He said Mr Parlon’s remark was “stupid, irrational and intemperate” and if he could add no more to industrial relations, he “should stay away from it”.