Collective bargaining and the transposition of the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages was a key theme at the SIPTU Public Administration and Community Division Biennial Delegate Conference held in Galway earlier this month.
SIPTU organises nearly 30,000 workers across the public service (not including health) with more than 200 delegates representing these members at the conference.
In his address, SIPTU Deputy General Secretary, John King, outlined some of the Union’s activity during what he called an “exceptionally busy time” for Shop Stewards and activists.
He highlighted the importance of the Public Service Agreement in delivering improvements for SIPTU members in the public sector, adding that employers must be held to task to ensure implementation of the agreement.
King further emphasised the importance of collective bargaining, calling it one of the Union’s most “fundamental battles” as unlike most European countries, Irish workers are still denied this right. He said: “As a Union, we are pushing for the full implementation of the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages and for the LEEF High-Level Working Group “to deliver on its promise of workplace democracy”.
King also condemned the continued “neglect and abandonment” of the community sector by the Government calling it “shameful”. He outlined that this denial of funding is having “profound consequences” for residents of Ireland and communities.
In his address, SIPTU Honorary Vice President Alan Lindley, emphasised the importance of collective bargaining saying that a “correct transposition of the EU Directive should not be underestimated.”
He also noted that in Ireland, workers have a right to association, not to collective bargaining and contrasted the current level of collective bargaining coverage of around 35% with 80% coverage in some other European countries.