Gardai told to enforce orders on site

In the continuing bitter controversy about the use of sub-contractors on building sites, the High Court yesterday granted an order directing gardaí to take steps to prevent any breaches of court orders regarding a site in Dublin operated by Collen Construction Ltd.

Mr Justice Smyth granted the order after Mr Roderick Horan, for Collen, complained the site was being watched by some 150 people, who were observed yesterday in a car-park across the road.

Small groups of men were also seen standing at street corners near the site. He said this constituted watching and besetting in breach of orders granted by the High Court.

The company said a number of skilled workers had not turned up for work at the Park Motors site yesterday, and two bricklayers said they would not work while this activity was ongoing.

Mr Horan said a Garda inspector had remarked that he was not satisfied that the activities complained of constituted a breach of court orders and refused to move against those involved.

Mr Justice Smyth said the spirit, as well as the letter, of court orders must be obeyed and he would grant an order directing gardaí to take the steps necessary to prevent breaches by persons unknown of court orders and returned the matter to Monday.

On Thursday, Mr Justice Kelly granted a temporary injunction to Collen preventing the Building and Allied Trades Union from directing the participation of its members in industrial action against the company.

The orders also restrained BATU, three named defendants - Mr Dennis Farrell, Mr John McCluskey and Mr Alan Keating - and persons unknown from watching, besetting or picketing Collen's site at East Road, Docklands, Dublin, or any of the company's sites in Ireland.

Collen had complained that some 20-30 people began to gather outside its East Road site on Thursday morning and shouted abuse at workers on the site. They shouted "Scabs out" and "No sub-contractors on site".

The company said some 100 protesters assembled. A group of picketers had surged past gardaí on to the site. The protests were having a catastrophic effect on the company's business.

In an affidavit, Mr Leo Crehan, a director of Collen, said he was told at 7.45 a.m. on Thursday that men were gathering in the vicinity of the Park Motors site, and a picket was imminent. By 8 a.m. 50 men had gathered, and gardaí told them they were liable to be arrested.

Mr Crehan said he believed a truck delivering to the site was prevented from entering, and the driver was told by one man to never come back.

Mr Crehan claimed that all the unlawful actions to which his company was subjected had for the most part been effected by persons unknown and had been orchestrated by the union.

He said the men who attended at the Park Motors site on Thursday had marched from the site through the city to the company's head office in East Wall. He and the company managing director, Mr Martin Glynn, met four picketers. Mr Patrick Kinsella, one of the four, had said it was union policy to eliminate sub-contractors from building sites and they were going to see that policy was carried out.

The four said they were all bricklayers and made it clear that any negotiations should be with the union.

On Wednesday 17 building workers were arrested by gardaí during a protest at the Park Motors site.

They were released after Mr Justice Smyth ordered them to pay €250 each. The total of €4,250 was paid following a whip-round among 100 people who attended the court in support of those arrested.