News Archive

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...

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. The meeting will discuss the recent Labour Court recommendation concerning the...

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. “Our young people are experiencing a crisis which will not only lead to many...

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). At the meeting a request from the senior management of the ESB to meet with the Group...

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...

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...

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. He argues that, under the current economic and political environment dominated by neoliberal...

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. SIPTU...

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. Victims of slavery, international experts and national stakeholders, along...

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. This month the City Wide Drugs Crisis Campaign will launch a leaflet...

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. SIPTU Organiser, Des...

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...

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. Begg said:...

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...

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. The...

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. SIPTU Organiser Miriam Hamilton told Liberty: “These new contracts are a step in the right...

Electricity consumers using prepay meters are spending significantly more than those paying the ESB and other suppliers through the traditional billing system. Retired public service worker, Anne Dunleavy, has estimated that she is paying 75 cent per...

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...

SIPTU members in Resources Facilities Services Ltd will vote on proposals from the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) on Monday, 13th January, aimed at concluding a dispute at the contract cleaning company. SIPTU Organiser, Ed Kenny, said:...

Bord Gáis Group of Unions representatives met with Bord Gáis Energy at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) on Thursday, (9th January), to discuss the details of the transfer of workers when the company moves into private ownership. SIPTU...

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...

The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland welcomes a new commitment by all OSCE members to combat trafficking for domestic servitude. “We have encountered several cases of domestic servitude in diplomatic households here in Dublin,” said MRCI’s...

René González, the first and only member of the Cuban Five to have been released after completing his 15 year sentence in the United States, has announced that he will come to London to give evidence to an International Commission of Inquiry...

The Dublin City University (DCU) SIPTU Section Committee, representing all grades of staff at the institution, has voted to express its support for colleagues at the Tyndall National Institute at University College Cork (UCC), in their dispute over...

Congress General Secretary David Begg on Monday, 27th January, called for a national policy of “inclusive job creation” to address the devastating effects of the recession on communities across the country. Begg was speaking at the launch of...

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions said, Wednesday (5th February) that while the latest jobless figures included some good news, they also revealed some worrying trends and signalled the urgent need to grow demand in the domestic economy. Congress...

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. The ballot will be concluded with a count of the votes in Liberty Hall on...

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...

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. Organised by the SIPTU Galway District Committee, to commemorate the 1913 Lockout and celebrate May...

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....

Dublin City Council has drawn up a shortlist of names for the new transport bridge over the river Liffey at Marlborough Street, Dublin. From a total of 85 nominations the Dublin City Council's Commemorative Naming Committee shortlisted 17 at a meeting...

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....

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...

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. The Haddington Road Agreement sets out details of new pay and working conditions...

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. The proposals were arrived at following overnight talks between trade union...

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. SIPTU Meath District Committee...

An important victory for workers’ rights was secured following a two-day protest outside Crumlin Shopping Centre in early May. Following an attempt by the contract company, At Risk Security, to unilaterally change workers’ pay and conditions of...

Minister for Communications,Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, has announced a review of Ireland’s fiscal terms for oil and gas production. In a recent interview with the Financial Times, he said he would “seek expert...

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. The...

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. The marches will demand that world leaders...

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,...

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. Congress Assistant General Secretary, Sally Anne Kinahan said: “It is good...

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...

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...

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. In a message to IFJ...

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...

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. Visuals...

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...

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.” The...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

The Dublin Tenement Experience: Living the Lockout, is an innovative performance and interpretation-based exhibition, on Henrietta Street in Dublin’s North Inner City. A joint initiative of Dublin City Council, the Irish Congress of Trade...

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...

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...

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...

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.” Addressing delegates to the organisation’s Biennial Delegate Conference (BDC), in...

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...

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. Addressing the conference on Thursday (4th...

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. Speaking at a successful open day held by the Partnership in the...

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...

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 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. Writing in the Irish Times...

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...

The SIPTU Education and Development Support Scheme is currently taking applications with a closing date of Tuesday, 30th September. The scheme provides opportunities for SIPTU members to participate in further and higher learning that will improve their...

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...

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. The Central Bank and Klaus...

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...

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. He said that although the employers had failed in their objective of...

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...

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.” Addressing the MacGill Summer School...

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...

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. When the final...

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). She said: “This is a very important day...

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. The events will begin with the launch of an exhibition ‘Dún...

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. The proposals were published following over night talks last week between union...

SIPTU Dublin Bus drivers are voting at depots across the city on Labour Court proposals for a company cost savings plan. The ballot began on Thursday, 15th August, and will conclude today (Friday 16th August). The ballot result will be announced this...

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...

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 –...

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. Launching the Congress pre-budget...

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...

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...

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. Speaking today at a ceremony in Glasnevin Cemetery at the graves of the victims of the...

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. Launching the Congress pre-budget...

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. The laying of the wreath on top of an...

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...

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. The Cuban Five are five Cuban men who are unjustly imprisoned in the...

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....

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. Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, said: “We had very...

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...

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). Some 47 people were killed in workplace incidents last year compared with 54 in 2011.The agriculture...

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....

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. Stating why he supported the campaign Welsh said, “Connolly was a true man...

SIPTU has condemned as unacceptable the placing on protective notice of the entire workforce at Tara Mines in Navan, Co. Meath. The 670 workers were placed on protective notice on Thursday, 3rd January, by the management of Boliden, the Swedish...

SIPTU has condemned as unacceptable the placing on protective notice of the entire workforce at Tara Mines in Navan, Co. Meath. The 670 workers were placed on protective notice on Thursday, 3rd January, by the management of Boliden, the Swedish...

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). The company has agreed to defer introducing cuts in...

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. In a...

SIPTU has stated that it will not sign up to a new public service agreement if it involves compulsory redundancies. SIPTU Vice President, Patricia King, said: “Opposition to compulsory redundancies is a fundamental trade union position in both the...