
SIPTU has called on the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport to provide clear commitments that proposed primary legislation governing the establishment of a new company, encompassing Shannon Airport Authority (SAA), Shannon Development and Shannon Heritage, will protect workers' existing pay, terms and conditions of employment in the three entities into the future.
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Scottish author Irvine Welsh is the latest high profile cultural figure to back the campaign to name the new transport bridge over the Liffey in Dublin in honour of James Connolly.
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The overall number of workplace deaths fell by 13% in 2012, according to figures released by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) on Thursday (3rd January).
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SIPTU Economist Marie Sherlock welcomed the latest Live Register figures, indicating a consistent decline in the seasonally adjusted numbers of people signing-on over the last six months of 2012, but warned that the statistics hid the impact of emigration.
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Labour Ministers have called on the European Central Bank (ECB) to recognise Ireland’s commitment to sustainable economic recovery and deliver a bank debt deal.
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SIPTU has condemned as unacceptable the placing on protective notice of the entire workforce at Tara Mines in Navan, Co. Meath.
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SIPTU has condemned as unacceptable the placing on protective notice of the entire workforce at Tara Mines in Navan, Co. Meath.
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Budget 2013 will result in a further contraction of the Irish economy and more job losses according to the key findings of the latest Quarterly Economic Observer (QEO) published by the Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI).
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SIPTU General President, Jack O’Connor, has urged all union members to participate in a national “Day of Action against Austerity” on Saturday, 9th February, which is being organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
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SIPTU representatives will attend a Labour Court hearing on Wednesday (16th January) into the dispute at Bus Eireann following lengthy discussions at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) on Friday (11th January).
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SIPTU has endorsed the Government’s commitment to pursue the introduction of a ‘Youth Guarantee’ across Europe during the Irish Presidency of the European Union.
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SIPTU has stated that it will not sign up to a new public service agreement if it involves compulsory redundancies.
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Ahead of the meeting of Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs taking place in Dublin on Thursday,17th January, and Friday, 18th January, as part of Ireland’s EU Presidency, the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) called for action and leadership in protecting the rights of migrants and their families.
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The Executive Council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on Wednesday (16th January) signed off on final arrangements for a National Day of Action to demand a resolution of Ireland’s bank debt problem.
A series of marches and rallies are to be held in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Sligo and Waterford on Saturday, 9th February.
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions on Thursday, 17th January, insisted that current European Union deliberations on a proposed new Data Protection Regulation reinforce and guarantee the principle of consent in relation to data collected by employers in the workplace.
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The Mandate Trade Union has welcomed Dunnes Stores’ decision to concede its claim for a 3% pay rise for the retailer’s workforce. The company has today been informing its 14,000 staff that it will be increasing their pay by the 3% sought by Mandate in 2013.
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Workers conducted a total of 8,486 days of strike action during 2012.
Figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Tuesday, 22nd January, record five industrial disputes involving companies with more than 10 workers. The disputes involved 1,920 workers and accounted for 8,486 strike days.
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To mark the centenary of the 1913 Lockout, the Progressive Film Club plan is running a series of films on the themes of labour struggles and workers’ rights throughout the coming year.
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Around 400 people braved pouring rain at lunchtime on Saturday, 26th January, to show their support for the Old Darnley Lodge workers in the second week of their sit-in at the Hotel in Athboy, Co. Meath.
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A massive protest against the bank debt and the one-sided austerity policies imposed by the EU/ECB/IMF troika on Irish workers and their families will take place during a national Day of Action on Saturday 9th February. Unions and civic society organisations are calling on everyone affected by the crushing debt burden and the associated jobs crisis, the steady emigration of our young people and increasing poverty to turn out for marches and rallies at six venues across the country.
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SIPTU President, Jack O’Connor, will lay a wreath at the grave of Jim Larkin, founder of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union, in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, today (30th January) at 4.30 p.m. to mark the 66th anniversary of the labour leader’s death.
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions warned today (30th January) that Ireland faced “the most dire consequences” without a significant deal on the country’s €64 billion bank debt burden.
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SIPTU has called for action to revive the economy in order to save a generation from unemployment following the release of Live Register figures that indicate the continued scale of the jobs crisis.
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is to warn officials from the Troika that without a significant deal on Ireland’s €64 billion bank debt burden, there is little chance of economic recovery in the near future.
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A write down on the €28 billion which Ireland is expected to pay as settlement of the Anglo Irish promissory notes must be on the agenda in negotiations between the Government and European Central Bank (ECB), according to NERI Director Tom Healy.
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The Irish Congress of Trade confirmed today (Thursday, 7th February) that the countrywide protests arranged for six locations on Saturday, 9th February, will go ahead as planned.
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The rallies against bank debt and austerity are going ahead as planned despite last night’s emergency legislation.
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The ITF is backing pro-democracy strikers in Tunisia today, including its three affiliates, Fédération Nationale des Chemins de Fer Tunisien - UGTT, Federation Generale des Ports et Dockers - UGTT and Fédération Nationale des Transports – UGTT, who are taking action following the assassination of opposition politician Chokri Belaid on Wednesday (6th February).
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has called on the Government to restore the rights and protections that applied to Irish Bank Resolution Corporation workers, before the introduction of emergency legislation that liquidated the company.
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Over 100,000 people marched in six Irish cities and towns on Saturday (9th February) in protest at the bank debt and one sided austerity policies. More than 60,000 marched in Dublin where Congress general secretary, David Begg, told a massive rally in Merrion Square that the protests against the unsustainable €64 billion debt will be brought to Brussels and Frankfurt and to governments across the EU.
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A major conference in Dublin on Saturday, 9th March, will examine how Ireland’s media treats social justice issues and will ask how social justice can be brought to the forefront of the conversation by broadcast, print, community and social media.
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The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and its member unions from the civil aviation sector will be upholding safety and decent working conditions at a crucial International Labour Organisation (ILO) meeting opening in Geneva today. The three day event – known as a global dialogue forum (GDF) – has been called to tackle the effects of the global economic crisis on the industry, and is the first to be held in ten years.
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Labour historian, Francie Devine, will deliver a lecture on the history of the dock workers and their trade unions in the Sean O’Casey Community Centre, St Mary’s Road, East Wall, on Saturday, 23rd February, at 2.00 p.m.
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has welcomed the Government’s renewed focus on job creation in the Action Plan for Jobs, but insisted that ‘significant and real progress’ would not be made until the collapse in domestic demand is addressed.
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Growth must become the first objective of policy across the European Union and confidence in ‘Social Europe’ must be rebuilt, Congress General Secretary David Begg has told an audience of senior EU diplomats.
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“Publicists of all kinds, philanthropists, literary men, lovers of their kind, poets, brilliant writers, artists, have all been conquered by the valiant heroism of the Dublin workers ...”
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Update: The full Labour Relations Commission proposals on an extension to the Croke Park agreement will be published this afternoon (Tuesday, 26th) – in order to prevent any misunderstandings SIPTU is awaiting the complete document before publishing the proposals on this website.
Negotiations on an extension to the Croke Park Agreement have resulted in better protections for public servants rather than across-the-board pay cuts or other measures that could have been imposed by the Government, according to leaders of unions representing the majority of public servants.
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The full text of the Labour Relations Commission proposals for Public Service Agreement are available to download.
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MRCI and ICTU, together with victims of slavery in Ireland and EU experts including Dr. Philipp Schwertmann (Trade Union Federation of Berlin-Brandenburg), held a high level meeting in Dublin on Wednesday (27th February) to discuss the increasing problem of slavery in Irish society.
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On the occasion of Equal Pay Day,(28th February 2013) the National Women’s Council of Ireland and SIPTU are calling on the government to urgently tackle the gender pay gap and protect collective bargaining and wage setting mechanisms in low paid sectors.
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The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) has referred the ten day long strike at St James’s Hospital, Dublin, to the Labour Court under Section 20(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1969. The referral means that the Labour Court will investigate the matter whether or not management representatives attend. The union has agreed to be bound by the findings of the Court.
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SIPTU President Jack O’Connor has said that public servants would be better served by one centralised agreement with the Government on pay and conditions.
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To commemorate the founding of the Irish Women Workers’ Union more than 100 years ago and its role in the 1913 Lockout, a ceramic plaque will be unveiled by feminist and historian Margaret Mac Curtain and the union’s last serving General Secretary Padraigin Ni Mhurchu along with IWWU member Kay Marron at Liberty Hall today, International Women’s Day (8th March), at 5.00 p.m. Jack O’Connor, president of SIPTU which has sponsored the plaque, will also be present along with sculptor Jackie McKenna, who created it
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Ireland needs to retrofit 150,000 houses a year for a decade if it is to meet its sustainable energy targets, Professor Brendan Halligan, Chairman, Institute of International and European Affairs and of the Sustainable Energy Authority, Ireland, has told the Energy Action Conference on Reframing Fuel Poverty in Europe.
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SIPTU members rallied outside the Dáil on Thursday, 21st March, to protest against EU policies which promote the privatisation of water resources.
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The introduction of a performance- related pay system for new workers in Bord Gáis has been agreed between unions and the semi-state’s management.SIPTU Sector Organsier, Oliver McDonagh, told Liberty: “This type of pay system had been rejected previously by union members.
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Applicants are invited to submit proposals to fulfill the contract for Network Manager of the Trade Union Skillnet.
The Contract will be awarded to an individual or organisation on a contract for services/ consultancy basis. The contract will be on a flexible part-time hours basis; the Trade Union Skillnet operates from an office in Congress Head Office in Dublin. The contracting organisation is the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. Participating unions include CWU, IBOA, INMO, MANDATE, SIPTU and TEEU.
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SIPTU has called on retailer Penneys to show fairness to workers following the confirmation that it has awarded a 2% pay increase to most management grades.
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Dublin City Council has announced a packed programme of events to celebrate this year’s Dublin: One City One Book initiative. James Plunkett’s Strumpet City, this year’s choice, also commemorates the centenary of the 1913 Dublin Lockout.
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This year Frances O’Grady became the first female General Secretary of the British Trade Union Congress. The daughter of an Irish-born mother and second-generation Irish father, she has fond memories of summers spent with relations in the Cabra area of Dublin. Scott Millar talked to Frances about her family background and the challenges and opportunities of her role.
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Dozens of Irish addresses have been linked to accounts held in offshore secrecy jurisdictions, allowing their holders to avoid paying their fair share of tax.
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Renowned human rights activist and writer, Noam Chomsky discussed their 161 day sit-in with the former Vita Cortex workers in Cork on Thursday (4th April).
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The body of the mineworker killed in an underground rockfall on Thursday (4th April) in the Lisheen Mine, Co. Tipperary, will be repatriated to his native Philippines this week.
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions on Monday, 8th April, welcomed a commitment from the Minister for Social Protection to ratify an international convention on rights for Domestic Workers.
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More than fifty pupils from three Dublin schools received certificates for their work on the 1913 Lockout Commemoration tapestry at a ceremony in the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) today (Tuesday, 9th April).
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On Wednesday April 10th the Nevin Economic Research Institute published its latest Quarterly Economic Observer outlining the think-tank’s most recent set of projections for the Republic of Ireland economy. These suggest a period of low-growth and high-unemployment for the next three years and include:
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Minister for State at the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport, Alan Kelly, has criticised the actions of management at Killarney Golf Club in initiating redundancies and outsourcing, while negotiations with the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) and Labour are underway.
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Sinn Féin has backed the trade union movement’s call for the Government to enact legalislation enshrining the right of workers to collective bargaining and trade union recognition.
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The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) today welcomed the publication of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) (Amendment) Bill 2013. The Bill will at last criminalise forced labour (modern-day slavery) in Ireland and protect victims who have been forced to commit begging and other criminal activities, provisions for which MRCI has long campaigned.
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The Executive Council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has today (Wednesday, 17th April) unanimously endorsed the outcome of the ballot of public sector workers, which resulted in the rejection of proposals – known as Croke Park II – relating to changes to the pay and conditions of all workers in the sector.
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Leaders of the Patriotic March - Colombia’s largest civil society peace movement – will meet with senior government officials and politicians in Dublin, Belfast and London as part of a high-profile visit to Ireland and the UK to build international support for the country’s growing peace movement.
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SIPTU members, together with their fellow trade unionists across the public service, have decisively rejected the proposals for a Revised Croke Park Agreement.
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The Minister for Education and Skills is introducing random audits on school and Department of Education funded third level building projects, in a proactive move to verify pay and conditions compliance on such sites.
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UNITE trade union has welcomed the ruling by the European Court of Justice on Thursday, 25th April, to the effect that the State is in breach of its obligations under the terms of the EU Insolvency Directive to ensure that employees receive sufficient accrued occupational pension entitlements.
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The Department of Social Protection has confirmed that it intends to introduce legislation recognising the special position of Retained Fire Fighters in regards to social welfare.
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A conference on Workplace Innovation - “Translating Policy into Practice” - will take place in the Green Isle Hotel, Dublin on the Tuesday, 30th April, and Wednesday, 1st May 2013. The conference is jointly organised by the SIPTU Manufacturing Division and the Ideas Institute.
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Speaking in advance of the Dublin Council of Trade Unions (DCTU) May Day demonstration scheduled for Wednesday, 1st May 1st, starting at 7.00 p.m. in Parnell Square, trade union leaders expressed their support for the event.
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Louth Labour Deputy Gerald Nash has joined SIPTU in voicing concerns over plans to temporarily transfer the entire National Ambulance Control Centre into one building in Townsend Street, Dublin. Control centres across the country will start to close from 15th May and all emergency calls will be handled in Townsend Street.
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Louth Labour Deputy Gerald Nash has joined SIPTU in voicing concerns over plans to temporarily transfer the entire National Ambulance Control Centre into one building in Townsend Street, Dublin. Control centres across the country will start to close from 15th May and all emergency calls will be handled in Townsend Street.
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Over 100 years of trade union activity in Galway was celebrated at an event in SIPTU House, Galway city, on the evening of Thursday, 2nd May.
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The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald, has agreed to meet with youth worker representatives to discuss the impact of budget cuts to vital youth services.
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SIPTU members in Bus Éireann this week began voting on strike action in response to a threat by management to impose unilateral changes to the pay and conditions of workers.
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The constitutional status of the Registered Employment Agreement (REA) structure, which legally protects the pay rates and conditions of employment of tens of thousands of workers throughout Ireland, is probably protected by legislation passed by the Government last year, according to SIPTU General President, Jack O’Connor.
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The recent Supreme Court judgement on Registered Employment Agreements (REAs) paves the way for a devastating attack on the standard of living of building workers in Ireland, according to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ Construction Industry Committee.
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The recent Supreme Court judgement on Registered Employment Agreements (REAs) paves the way for a devastating attack on the standard of living of building workers in Ireland, according to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ Construction Industry Committee.
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Dublin City Council has drawn up a shortlist of names for the new transport bridge over the river Liffey at Marlborough Street, Dublin.
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The Ukrainian and Russian crew of the mv Clipper Faith freighter, which has been stranded in Dublin since last December, were paid $406,586.68 (€314,160.62) in arrears of wages today and will now be able to return home after being stranded in Dublin for over six months. The arrears were secured by the International Transport Workers’ Federation and the amount is the largest ever secured for the crew of a merchant vessel in Ireland.
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The National Executive Council of SIPTU has recommended the proposals for public service pay and reform which emerged following weeks of negotiations at the Labour Relations Commission.
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SIPTU has called on funding to be made available to maintain the operation of Cultúr, the only community organisation in County Meath that is dedicated to working with migrants experiencing social exclusion and racism.
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An important victory for workers’ rights was secured following a two-day protest outside Crumlin Shopping Centre in early May.
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SIPTU members in Bus Éireann are voting on Labour Relations Commission (LRC) proposals to change their terms of employment with the ballot result expected on Thursday, 30th May.
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Minister for Communications,Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, has announced a review of Ireland’s fiscal terms for oil and gas production.
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SIPTU members in Bus Éireann have voted in favour of Labour Relations Commission (LRC) proposals to change their terms of employment by 69% to 31% following a ballot which was counted in Liberty Hall, Dublin, on Thursday, 30th May.
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In response to the G8 Summit of international leaders in Fermanagh during June, the Belfast Trades Council and the Northern Ireland ICTU Youth Committee have jointly organsied the ‘Another World is Possible Festival’ of political discussions, comedy, music and protest
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has said that although the fall in jobless numbers is welcome, it cannot disguise continued high levels of long-term and youth unemployment.
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The General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, David Begg welcomed the President and delegates of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to Dublin for their World Congress, which runs from 4th – 7th June.
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The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has called for massive investment – of between €140 billion and €280 billion – in a European jobs and recovery programme. Speaking in Dublin on Wednesday (5th June) ETUC general secretary Bernadette Ségol said austerity policies had failed and investment of between 1-2% of EU-wide GDP was needed to create jobs and relaunch the European economy.
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Rónán Burtenshaw and Tommy Gavin in Istanbul: The hundreds of thousands that have taken to the streets across Turkey this week may represent diverse interests and have a range of grievances but they take their inspiration from the same kilometre of green space in Istanbul. Gezi Park, the spark that ignited a revolt, is situated in historic Taksim Square, home of the city's May Day demonstrations. It overlooks the site where on 1st May 1977 42 trade unionists and leftists were killed by right wing militias.
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Trade unionists and community activists will march in Belfast on Saturday and next week in Enniskillen in response to the G8 Summit of international leaders in Fermanagh on Monday, 17th and Tuesday, 18th June.
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions today (June 14) formally requested the assistance of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to ensure the Irish Government makes good on a commitment to give legal backing to the right of workers to collectively bargain with employers, through a trade union.
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On International Domestic Workers' Day, (Sunday, 16th June) at 3.00 p.m. domestic workers will protest outside the UAE Embassy, Pembroke Road, Dublin 4 in solidarity with two domestic workers formerly employed by the Ambassador.
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On Saturday 22nd June, undocumented migrants living in Ireland will undertake a ‘Journey for Justice’ bus tour across Ireland, starting in Dublin and stopping in Galway City and the Cliffs of Moher. Undocumented migrants, including families and children, are bravely stepping out of the shadows to publicly urge the Government to give them the chance to fully integrate with and contribute to their communities.
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A Presentation to the Public Accounts Committee by Joe O'Flynn, General Secretary, SIPTU on the Comptroller and Auditor General's Special Report on the Administration of the National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund regarding the SKILLS Programme
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is to formally protest to Turkish authorities over its handling of recent protests and call on the government to “end violence and repression against peaceful protests and address the demands made by the protestors.”
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions Biennial Delegate Conference 2013 will take place from July 2-4, in the Assembly Rooms, Belfast.
The theme of BDC 2013 is Decent Work, Better Future and, over the three days, some 500 delegates will debate motions on securing a just resolution to the economic crisis, job creation and decent work, equality, international concerns and proposals on the future structure of the trade union movement on this island.
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Among the key points are;
A recovery of growth in output and in total employment is likely to be very slow in both economies of Ireland over the coming two years. Economic activity remains depressed in some of the key trading partners and continuing fiscal austerity coupled with high levels of private debt are taking their toll on domestic demand. While there are some positive signals, with regards to service exports in the Republic of Ireland as well as a reduction in unemployment since early 2012, the overall outlook remains very challenging. This will continue to weigh on public finances where Government ambitions to reach the deficit target of 3% by 2015 very much depend on a range of circumstances not all of which are under full domestic policy control.
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions said today (June 26) that new figures showing Ireland had slipped back into recession served to “confirm all our worst fears about the destructive policy path being followed by government and are a sharp reminder that we need a very clear change of course.”
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The Dublin Tenement Experience: Living the Lockout, is an innovative performance and interpretation-based exhibition, on Henrietta Street in Dublin’s North Inner City.
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The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) today (Friday 28th June) welcomed the long-awaited criminalisation of modern-day slavery in Ireland. The Dáil has passed a Bill inserting a definition of forced labour (otherwise known as modern-day slavery) into Irish law, which will ensure that employers who commit this criminal act can be prosecuted.
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Workers in St. Colmcilles's Credit Union in Kells, county Meath, commenced industrial action with a one day work stoppage on Friday, 28th June, in response to a management failure to recognise their union, SIPTU, for collective bargaining purposes.
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The allegations that senior executives at Anglo-Irish Bank may have misled the Central Bank and the Government in order to secure the disastrous banking guarantee in September 2008 has exposed the culture of entitlement among
senior bankers, according to SIPTU Finance Sector Organiser, Adrian Kane.
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions Biennial Delgate Conference (BDC) opens tomorrow (July 2) in Belfast, where over 700 delegates and observers will debate a range of motions on the economic crisis, the reform of trade union structures, workplace rights and equality.
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Congress General Secretary David Begg has called for a major programme of social investment in the face of “irrefutable evidence that austerity is not working.”
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SIPTU members working at Ballyfermot Chapelizod Partnership Company have expressed serious concerns over Government plans to transfer funding for Local Development Companies (LDCs) to local authorities.
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Fine Gael is working with business interests to ensure that new rights on collective bargaining for workers are not implemented, SIPTU Vice-President Patricia King has told the Congress Biennial conference in Belfast.
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The Congress Biennial Delegate Conference 2013 in Belfast unanimously passed an emergency motion on Thursday, 4th July, in support of "a vigorous and robust campaign" to bring about the repeal of the Fiscal Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) legislation that applies to public sector workers in the Republic.
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The Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI) welcomes the most recent Medium-Term Review published by the Economic and Social Research Institute. It provides a significant addition to the debate on policy options and possible future economic recovery pathways over the remainder of this decade.
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The recent controversy concerning union funding of the British Labour Party is merely an attempt to distract attention from the influence of corporate donors in politics, according to Congress industrial officer Peter Rigney.
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Speaking at a rally on Wednesday (17th July) outside the Dáil in support of former Waterford Crystal workers, Unite Regional Secretary Jimmy Kelly said it was scandalous that, over two-and-a-half months after the European Court of Justice ruled that the state had a duty to protect the workers’ pension entitlements, there has been no movement from the Government.
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The SIPTU Community Sector has launched a petition calling on the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Phil Hogan, to meet with the representatives of workers who will be affected by his plans to “align” Local Development Companies (LDC) with Local Authorities.
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The SIPTU Education and Development Support Scheme is currently taking applications with a closing date of Tuesday, 30th September.
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In response to the call on the Government by the Central Bank today (Friday 26th July) that it sticks to the planned adjustment of €3.1 billion in Budget 2014, SIPTU General President, Jack O’Connor, said: “This is blackmail on a monumental scale. It is quite clear that there is a well-orchestrated campaign by those at the top of the banking system in Ireland and in Europe, who caused the crisis in the first place, to inflict totally unnecessary misery on our society.
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This year marks the Centenary of the Dublin Lockout when employers in the city sought to destroy the Irish Transport and General Workers Union, which they saw as a threat to the status quo and their own dominant position within it. Two books launched today (Tuesday, 30th July) in Liberty Hall by SIPTU General President Jack O’Connor at 5.30 p.m. look at the dispute in its historical and current contexts.
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The effects of the 1913 Lockout are still evident in Irish society 100 years after the great struggle between employers and trade unionists, according to SIPTU President Jack O’Connor.
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SIPTU President, Jack O’Connor has described as “blackmail on a monumental scale” the call on the Government by the Central Bank and other commentators to stick to an adjustment of €3.1 billion in Budget 2014.
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The management of Dublin Bus has threatened to unilaterally introduce changes to workers terms and conditions of employment from Sunday 4th August. Such action will automatically result in strike action by SIPTU members at the company in line with overwhelming votes in favour of industrial action in a ballot conducted during July.
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SIPTU President Jack O’Connor has called for an immediate end to the economic policy of austerity which he described as “a violence perpetrated against working people and those who depend most on public services.”
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SIPTU members conducting a 48-hour strike action at Milne Foods in Birr, County Offaly, have called on politicians to demand that the company, which has a number of contracts to supply State bodies, implement a Labour Court recommendation in relation to workers' conditions of employment.
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Following overnight talks between union representatives and the management of Dublin Bus, that ended at 5.00 a.m. on Thursday, 8th August, a new set of Labour Court proposals on cost saving measures at the company have been formulated.
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SIPTU Dublin Bus drivers are attending general meetings in Liberty Hall today (Monday, 12th August) where they are being briefed on Labour Court proposals on company cost savings.
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A series of events commemorating the centenary of the 1913 Lockout will take place in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, between Thursday, 22nd and Sunday 25th August.
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SIPTU Education Sector Organiser, Louise O’Reilly, has offered the union’s congratulations to the 56,000 students who received their Leaving Cert results today (Wednesday, 14th August).
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SIPTU Dublin Bus drivers are voting at depots across the city on Labour Court proposals for a company cost savings plan.
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Songs written by the Irish revolutionary and visionary James Connolly, have been brought to life once again. A group of musicians led by Mat Callahan have recorded the songs of Connolly on a recently released CD and collected all his know songs in a newly reprinted book.
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The President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, will lead the State Commemoration of the 1913 Lockout which will take place, subject to permit, on Saturday, 31 August next – 100 years precisely to the day of Bloody Sunday 1913 – at the Larkin Statue on O’Connell Street, Dublin.
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The social economy in Ireland employs over 50,000 people and it has the potential to create thousands more jobs. Yet, it remains a source of concern for many trade unionists, who see in its development threats of outsourcing, or undercutting wages and conditions across the wider economy.
But the social economy contains no such threat and involves, instead, the generation of local economic activity and the delivery of community-based services and job opportunities.
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions said today (29th August) that an alternative strategy for Budget 2014 would be more effective at reaching deficit targets, spurring job creation and boosting recovery prospects.
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Oration by SIPTU General President, Jack O’Connor, on Thursday 29th August, 2013 at the graveside of trade unionist, Patrick Dunbar, who was murdered by strike breakers on 10th March 1913 while participating in the Sligo Dock Strike against the Sligo Steam Navigation Company.
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions said today ( 29th August) that an alternative strategy for Budget 2014 would be more effective at reaching deficit targets, spurring job creation and boosting recovery prospects.
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President Michael D Higgins laid a wreath on Saturday (31st August) at the statue of Jim Larkin, in O’Connell Street in Dublin, to commemorate the workers and their families who suffered during the 1913 Lockout.
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The seven people who died in the collapse of two tenements buildings in Church Street, Dublin, during the 1913 Lockout were remembered on Monday, 2nd September.
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Three national student and trade union bodies issued a joint call Thursday (5th September)for immediate government action to address the youth jobs crisis and have proposed the adoption of a new National Jobs Strategy for Young People to tackle the problem.
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SIPTU is supporting a vigil in solidarity with the Cuban Five which is taking place at the Spire in O’Connell Street, Dublin, on Thursday, 12th September, at 6.00 p.m.
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The President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, John Douglas, on Thursday (12th September) called for the immediate release of the ‘Cuban Five’ from custody in the United States and for them to be allowed to return to their homes and families in Cuba.
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The government must use Budget 2014 to stimulate demand and inject life into the economy, as new data from the Central Statistics Office confirms continued stagnation and a lack of growth, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said on Thursday, 19th October.
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The Group of Experts on Action against Human Trafficking (GRETA) on Thursday, 26th September, urged the Irish government to act against trafficking for forced labour and take a victim-centred approach to the growing problem of human trafficking.
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Trade union leaders united today (Tuesday, 1st October) to call on all trade unionists to participate in the Dublin Council of Trade Unions Pre-Budget Demonstration on Saturday, 12th October.
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At a ceremony in Dublin on Wednesday (2nd October) officiated by the Lord Mayor Oisín Quinn, campaigners will celebrate the introduction of a new law criminalising forced labour (also known as modern-day slavery) in Ireland. At the event, activists will be honoured for their tireless work and commitment to the cause.
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The 100th anniversary of the first food shipment from the British TUC to support striking workers and their families during the 1913 Lockout will be re-enacted on Saturday, 5th October at 11.30 am at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2.
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The Cork Council of Trade Unions in conjunction with SIPTU, Cork City Council and St. Vincent’s Hurling & Football Club are hosting an Official Road naming ceremony for former ITGWU Cork Branch Secretary Tadhg Barry on Saturday, 5th October at 12.30 p.m.
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The arrival of the SS Hare into Dublin was reenacted on Saturday, 5th October, on City Quay.
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Address by Jack O’Connor, General President SIPTU To The SIPTU Biennial Delegate Conference Monday 7th October 2013
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Address by Jack O’Connor, General President SIPTU To The SIPTU Biennial Delegate Conference Monday 7th October 2013
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In a rousing speech to delegates at the second day of the SIPTU Biennial Delegate Conference, RMT General Secretary, Bob Crow, said his union was committed to “militant trade unionism.”
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The "establishment" will meet moves to legislate for workers' right to collective bargaining with "massive resistance", SIPTU Vice President, Patricia King told the union's Biennial Delegate Conference on Wednesday, 9th October, in the Mansion House, Dublin.
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The Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has strongly condemned the two murders by so-called ‘dissident republicans’ in Northern Ireland and has demanded that the perpetrators immediately cease their criminal violent acts and disband.
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The 1913 Lockout Tapestry and historical trade union banners are being exhibited in the National Museum, Collins Barracks, Dublin, from Thursday, 10th October, until Sunday, 17th November.
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The Director of the Nevin Economic Research Institute, Dr Tom Healy, today warned that what he termed ‘legacy cuts’ may increase the real adjustment in Tuesday’s Budget. Dr Healy was commenting on reports that the likely fiscal adjustment in Budget 2014 will be €2.5 billion rather than the previously assumed €3.1 billion.
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions said today (October 16) that the Government had made the wrong choices in Budget 2014 and insisted that any investment programme should prioritise the creation of decent jobs to ensure sustainable recovery.
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Over 150 young people protested outside the Dáil on Wednesday, 16th October, demanding the Government does not implement a Budget proposal to cut social welfare payments for under 26 year olds.
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions on Friday, 18th October, granted an All-Out Picket to Mandate trade union in respect of the ongoing dispute at Wallis Stores in Dublin and Limerick.
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Youth campaign groups, representing young workers, the unemployed and students protested against proposals contained in Budget 2014 to cut Job Seekers Allowance for those under 26 by forming a 'Dáil queue' on Kildare Street, Dublin, on Wednesday, 23rd October.
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SIPTU President Jack O’Connor will lay a memorial wreath at the Workers' Memorial Fountain in Belfast on Friday, 25th October, at 11.15 a.m. in remembrance of two SIPTU members who were shot dead at work 20 years ago.
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Colombia is the most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist. According to UN figures almost 3,000 trade unionists have been killed since 1986. In the first six months of 2013 at least 11 trade unionists were killed. State authorities are directly involved in many of these killings.
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Following a meeting of SIPTU Dublin Bus Traffic Representatives to discuss the recent developments in the long running dispute about the Dublin Bus Cost Reduction proposals, a notice was sent to SIPTU members in the Traffic Section of Dublin Bus on 30th October, 2013.
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I was deeply saddened to hear today of the passing of my friend and former colleague Patsy Cronin. I had the great privilege of working with Patsy when I was a trade union official in Kerry and we have been friends ever since.
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A SIPTU proposal to extend the number and scope of apprenticeships would make a major contribution to ending the youth unemployment crisis, according to SIPTU Vice President Patricia King.
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The youth committee’s of the Communications Workers’ Union and the TEEU are urging all unemployed people to publicly reject letters from the Department of Social Protection advertising overseas jobs and attend the Youth Assembly in Liberty Hall tomorrow.
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The Bray and District Council of Trade Unions is hosting a wreath laying ceremony to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of James Byrne (Secretary of Kingstown/ Dun Laoghaire ITGWU Branch) who died as a result of a hunger and thirst strike during the 1913 Lockout.
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Leading figures from Ireland’s major religious dominations and the humanist community attended a service of remembrance for those who suffered during the 1913 Lockout at the University Church, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin, on Tuesday 12th November.
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Leading figures from Ireland’s major religious dominations and the humanist community attended a service of remembrance for those who suffered during the 1913 Lockout at the University Church, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin, on Tuesday 12th November.
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Oscar López Triviño was murdered on 9th November in the Colombian city of Bugalagrande a day after he and other members of his union, SINALTRAINAL, received death threats from paramilitaries. The union had been on hunger strike at Nestlé since 5th November.
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SIPTU has called on the Government to immediately commence major investment in new State backed apprenticeship schemes in order to prevent the loss of another generation to emigration.
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SIPTU is holding an information meeting for HSE Home Helps based in Co. Westmeath on Wednesday, 27th November, at 7.00 p.m. in the Bloomfield House Hotel, Mullingar.
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The ESB Group of Unions will meet to consider its members recent vote for industrial action in Wynn’s Hotel, Abbey Street, Dublin, on Friday (22nd November).
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Young people who have grown up in State care will have the statutory right to an aftercare plan under proposed legislation due to come before the Dáil in the coming months. The move follows a long-running campaign on the issue by Focus Ireland, supported by SIPTU.
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A campaign to highlight the increasing efforts to redefine our universities as ‘businesses’ rather than centres of research, study and learning has been launched, with the initial support of over 700 lecturers and academics across all seven Irish universities.
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One of the country’s leading anti-drugs campaign groups has called for an “informed public and political debate” on alternatives to a criminal justice approach to drug addiction.
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The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) will mark International Day for the Abolition of Slavery with a national conference on Identifying Victims of Trafficking for Forced Labour.
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In this Global Labour Column, the focus is on a farewell speech made by Vasco Pedrina at the Building & Wood Workers’ International (BWI) World Congress.
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SIPTU members in workplaces across the country are being asked to contribute to a Christmas collection for the Milne Food workers who have been conducting a campaign of strike action at the company’s plant in Birr, Co. Offaly, since 11th July.
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SIPTU is encouraging music and theatre practitioners to attend a Public Forum on proposed reforms to copyright law taking place in the Royal Irish Academy, Dawson Street, Dublin on Monday, 9th December, at 5.00 p.m.
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The General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, David Begg, has expressed 'deep sadness' at the death of Nelson Mandela and extended condolences to his family and friends and to the South African trade union movement.
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The courageous Dunnes Stores workers whose strike in 1984 highlighted the inhumanity and injustice of apartheid will be present to witness the funeral of Nelson Mandela in South Africa later this week.
Three of the former strikers, Mary Manning, Liz Deasy and Karen Gearon flew from Dublin on Sunday and will join President Michael D Higgins and other world leaders at the memorial service for the admired freedom fighter and statesman in the football stadium near Soweto on Tuesday (10th December). The other former Dunnes Stores workers will travel to South Africa on Wednesday and will be present when ‘Madiba’ is laid to rest in his home village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape province on Sunday (15th December).
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Tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, undocumented families, children, individuals and supporters will gather outside the Dáil for a 24-Hour Vigil to highlight the plight of undocumented migrants at Christmastime.
A candlelit family gathering at 6pm on Wednesday will see undocumented migrants tell stories of their lives in Ireland.
“We’re already part of Irish life,” said Justice for the Undocumented spokesperson Allan Danou. “I want to say to Irish people: we’re your neighbours and friends, we care for your children and your grandparents. We serve you in cafés and we shop in your stores.”
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SIPTU has set up a committee to deal with equality issues in Northern Ireland.The SIPTU Northern Ireland Equality Committee will be comprised of activists drawn from across the union’s membership with the first meeting scheduled for early 2014.
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Hundreds of home helps have attended SIPTU-organised meetings across the country to discuss the impact of new HSE contracts that come into force for the service next year.
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SIPTU members in Resources Facilities Services Ltd, a contract cleaning company, are conducting two one-hour work stoppages at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, today (Monday, 16th December) in protest at the company implementing a cut to workers pay without agreement.
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Electricity consumers using prepay meters are spending significantly more than those paying the ESB and other suppliers through the traditional billing system.
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The Dún Laoghaire 1913 Commemoration Committee is hosting a workshop entitled “After the Lockout commemorations - Trade Union Organising in 2014 and beyond” to be held in the Dún Laoghaire Club, Eblana Avenue, Dún Laoghaire on Saturday, 25th January from 2.30 p.m. to 5.30p.m.
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