SIPTU members in Edenderry Power Ltd (EPL), Edenderry, County Offaly, will begin a 24-hour work stoppage tomorrow (Thursday, 6th April), at 7.30 a.m. in a dispute concerning collective bargaining rights at the power generation plant. SIPTU Organiser, John Regan, said: “In conjunction with their work stoppage our members will place pickets on the entrance to the plant. For the duration of this industrial action the power generation plant will not be supplying energy to the national electricity grid. “This dispute is in relation to the Bord na Móna subsidiary refusing to accept that a collective bargaining agreement signed in November 2013 covers our members’ right to have their basic pay increases negotiated by SIPTU representatives. “Tomorrow’s action will be the second 24-hour work stoppage conducted at the plant in relation to this dispute. Unfortunately, since this dispute began there has been no attempt by the management of Bord na Móna to even contact the workers’ representatives far less make a genuine effort to resolve the outstanding issues.” He added: “The company entered into talks on a pay increase of 3.5% in April 2014. In early 2016, it derailed the process at the Workplace Relations Commission by stating that a collective agreement between the union and management did not cover pay negotiations. This resulted in it claiming that SIPTU representatives did not have a right to represent its members in pay negotiations. “Workers in EPL have not received a pay increase since 2007. This is remarkable when it is considered that they are working for a subsidiary of a semi-state company which has recorded profits of €85 million in the last three years.”
SIPTU members in EPL to conduct 24-hour work stoppage tomorrow
