Community Employment (CE) Supervisors are voting in a ballot for industrial action, up to and including strike action, in a dispute concerning the failure of the Government to implement a Labour Court recommendation regarding their right to a pension. SIPTU Sector Organiser, Eddie Mullins, said: “General meetings of CE Supervisors, who are members of the SIPTU and Fórsa trade unions, are currently being held across the country. At these meetings, CE Supervisors are voting in a ballot for industrial action which will involve their withdrawal of cooperation with government departments, states agencies and local authorities. “If passed, the ballot will also mandate for the escalation of the industrial action to include 24, 48 or 72-hour work stoppages and the placing of pickets. “Six general meetings are being held across the country. A meeting was held in Waterford last night, and more will be held in Galway and Donegal today, with another scheduled in Dublin tomorrow, Cork on Monday, 20th January and Kerry on Wednesday, 22nd January. It is intended to have the ballot completed by Friday, 24th January.” He added: “CE supervisors play a key role in the provision of much-needed community services such as crèches, meals on wheels, upkeep of community halls, GAA and soccer pitches, Tidy Towns support and maintenance of green areas around the country. Fórsa Assistant General Secretary, Ian McDonnell, said: “There is considerable anger among CE Supervisors concerning their treatment by the Government after more than a decade of waiting for the 2008 Labour Court recommendation regarding their pension rights to be implemented. Representatives of the workers received a commitment from the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, in May 2019 that the pension issue would be dealt with. This led them to suspend planned industrial action at that time. “Unfortunately, the Minister failed to live up to her commitment due to the refusal of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to provide the funding necessary for the Government to implement the Labour Court recommendation. This situation has led many CE Supervisors to believe they have been left with no option but to implement a major escalation of their long running campaign.”
CE Supervisors balloting for industrial action in dispute over pension rights
