SIPTU has called on elected representatives to honour their pre-election pledges to prohibit the privatisation of water services by holding a referendum to create a constitutional protection of their public ownership and control. SIPTU Sector Organiser, Brendan O’Brien, said: “In response to comments made in the media today, SIPTU is calling on elected representatives to honour their pre-election pledges to prohibit the privatisation of our water services by holding a referendum to maintain them in public ownership and control. “Our members are extremely concerned by a proposal to replace Irish Water with a new independent entity. They believe this is merely a means by which to disguise the outsourcing and privatisation by stealth of public water services by removing the role local authorities have in their provision.” He added: “We are also calling on an incoming government to honour the terms of the Service Level Agreement between water services workers and their employers. This agreement provides the means by which change in our water services is managed on an agreed consultative basis.” SIPTU Sector Organiser, Adrian Kane, said: “Calls made by Fianna Fáil for redundancies in Irish Water are merely preparing the ground for the eventual privatisation of our water services, a move which is opposed by the vast majority of the public. "SIPTU is urgently seeking to meet representatives from all political parties to discuss the future of our public water services and the workers which provide them. In the event that there are any unilateral actions taken, SIPTU members will take whatever measures are required, including industrial action, to protect this public service.”
SIPTU calls on politicians to honour pledges on public ownership of water services
