News Archive

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...

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 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 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 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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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 –...

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 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...

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 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 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 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 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....

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 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...

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...

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). The QEO, published on Wednesday...

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. The Youth Guarantee proposal will be the main focus of an informal meeting of the EU...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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. SIPTU Campaigns and Equality Organiser, Ethel Buckley said:...

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. Speaking at a briefing on the February 9 demonstrations that...

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...

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. It kicks-off on Saturday, January 26th with two films about...

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. Local politicians from all political parties...

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...

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. Speaking ahead of a meeting with...

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. Congress General Secretary, David Begg, said: “While...

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. Presenting...

The rallies against bank debt and austerity are going ahead as planned despite last night’s emergency legislation. The limited deal being reported today might ease Ireland’s repayments in the short term but it will not reduce the huge level of European...

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...

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. Congress General...

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...

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...

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...

“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 ...” James Connolly spoke these...

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...

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....

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...

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. Speaking at a gathering of EU ambassadors...

The full text of the Labour Relations Commission proposals for Public Service Agreement are available to download. click here

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....

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...

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...

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. Responding to media reports of so-called ‘sweeteners’ being on offer to members of some unions...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

SIPTU members rallied outside the Dáil on Thursday, 21st March, to protest against EU policies which promote the privatisation of water resources. The rally was part of a EU wide campaign by the European Federation of Public Service Unions,...

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. SIPTU Organiser, Graham Macken, said: “The decision to pay this increase to management grades...

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....

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...

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. Minister Joan Burton told delegates at the International Labour...

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. A worldwide investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has found...

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). During the ninety minute meeting at the Riverside Hotel the workers including SIPTU shop stewards,...

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. The body of Mario Francis (49) was finally recovered on Saturday night. Prior...

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...

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...

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). The pupils from Larkin Community College...

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...

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. Delegates at the party’s annual Ard Fheis in Castlebar, Co....

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 –...